Struggling to Breathe
by ATPD
Summary: Original idea by the wonderful alightintheshadows: Ed has been killed as a warning for Roy to stop his work on restoring Ishbal after the Promised Day. Roy doesn't take his death well and is dependant on the people around him to save himself from his grief. Only problem is, Ed's not dead, but hiding while trying to stop the people who supposedly killed him. Parental!RoyEdAl.
1. Chapter 1

**Like it says in the description, this idea originally belongs to the incredibly talented alightintheshadows, and I am honoured to have been trusted with writing your story. I would also like to thank you for reading through this first chapter for me to see if it gained your approval. So thank you very much, alightintheshadows for taking time to read through this and also to answer to my many PMs.**

**And if there is any confusion, I write Ishbal instead of Ishval because I was introduced to the manga before the two animes, so Ishbal still feels a lot more natural to me no matter how much I adore Brotherhood.**

**And this is an AU where Ed stays in the military after the Promised Day, which is explained rather quickly.**

**And there will probably be some gore/violence because it's me, and of course there will be some swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

* * *

**Chapter one.**

The walk to Ishbal was hot.

Really, really hot.

Having been relieved of one of his metal limbs was of course a huge help, but it still didn't prevent his left leg from pretending it was an oven while boiling the skin around his port.

Ed wiped the sweat out of his fringe and looked over at the Brigadier General. Mustang wasn't looking much better than he was, even if he had left his blue wool uniform back home and was looking a bit too much like Kimblee for comfort in his milk-coloured suit. Ed knew it wasn't the man's fault, he didn't know after all, but the white hat really didn't help.

It made the old wound in his side itch as he looked up at the man walking through the sand beside him.

Things had changed a lot since the Promised Day four months ago. Al was back in his body, but Ed had actually decided to stay in the military for a very simple reason: he wanted Al to go to a university. His brother had lost so much during those five years and he was clever as hell, so when Al mentioned it in his half-awake state shortly after he was admitted to the hospital, Ed decided that he owed him at least that.

But that meant that he needed a job, so when Führer Grumman offered him to stay with the military, Ed accepted. So now Ed had gone from being the Fullmetal Alchemist to Major Elric, but he was still working under Mustang and was surrounded by his old team usually, so things were pretty okay. Al would be attending Central University next year once his body was completely healed from being inside the Gate for so long.

"Are you okay, Edward?" the General asked.

"Yeah, just hot." Ed wiped away some more sweat. His fringe was clinging to his face.

"Your automail's not overheating, right? Heatstrokes are pretty normal out here."

"I'm fine, General."

"At least have some water. We still have a while to go." Mustang grabbed the back of Ed's rucksack and pulled out his water bottle, handing it to him.

"Thanks," Ed mumbled.

Mustang had these last few months become a lot more bearable and something like an uncle to Ed and Al. Ed had been staying with him for the two months that Al had been recuperating in Central Hospital at Mustang's insistence and the man had actually turned out to be pretty okay to be around. He had become a lot more protective about Ed and Al after everything that had happened on the Promised Day, apparently watching Ed disappear into a giant eye with black hands disintegrating him had scared the older man quite a bit. So after a very awkward exchange of words in Al's hospital room, things had become a lot friendlier between the three of them.

Once Ed was done sipping the tepid water, he handed it back to Mustang who put it back inside the rucksack. Ed pulled the hood of his white coat further down his face in order to shield himself from the blazing sun. Ed was seriously regretting his choice of black trousers and tank top, but what's done is done.

They were on their way to Ishbal on a sort of reconnaissance trip to see how things were really looking. Ed knew that there were guards stationed around the area in order to keep the Ishbalan survivors from taking back their holy land, which was why Lieutenant Hawkeye was back in East City. Sending both the Hero of Ishbal as well as the Hawk's Eye would probably arouse a lot of hateful feelings, so Ed had volunteered to go as it also gave him a chance to visit Resembool again on the way over, which was where they had left Al.

There were a lot of people against what the General was trying to do, so Ed knew he had painted a great, red target on his back, but as he had told Mustang when he had pointed it out, "I usually wear a red coat anyways so it doesn't really show."

They reached the top of a small hill and the view that met them made Ed's stomach twist. He'd heard about the horrors of Ishbal, but actually seeing the destruction and the meagre ruins of the town in front of them was something quite different. Seeing the fence that surrounded the ruins with the soldiers stationed around it made anger surge through him. Envy may be dead as well as the other homunculi, but the number of people they had killed, the families they had destroyed, the lives they had ruined, those still remained. And that fence kept the remaining Ishbalans from even claiming what was rightfully theirs.

Ed felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at Mustang. His face had tightened and his eyes were full of pain. "You okay?"

"Yeah, you?"

"As fine as can be expected. Come, let's go."

Ed kept eyeing the older man, trying to read just a bit of what was going on in his mind at the sight in front of them. Ed felt sick just at seeing these ruins, but Mustang had actually fought here. All Ed could read from him was regret. Deep, profound regret. But Ed could only see that because he knew him. To the two soldiers they were walking up to he looked as gathered and unfeeling as always.

"Who are you?" the oldest of the soldiers asked. He was fit and had short, brown hair. He looked like he was in his late thirties.

"I'm Brigadier General Roy Mustang and this is Major Edward Elric. We are here to speak to Colonel Fredricks." Mustang held up his pocket watch.

The two soldiers straightened immediately and saluted them both before unlocking the heavy steel gate and letting them through. There was supposed to be a small military base in the middle of this ruined town. They were here to speak to this Colonel Fredricks to strategise about the safest route through the region. Apparently there had been an outbreak of attacks on the military personnel stationed along the fences. It was the reason why Mustang was even wearing civilian clothes.

They made their way through the town and Ed had to say that he felt sick. The buildings were ruined, in many places there were just deep pits after explosions, but what really brought it home to Ed was the hundreds of small mounds with pieces of wood sticking out of them. They were walking through a graveyard. A military occupied graveyard.

Ed stopped walking once he reached a particularly large pit. He had spotted half a plush cat, just like the one Al used to have when they were small. It was torn and had burn marks, but Ed could imagine a little kid looking like the Ishbalan version of his little brother, clinging to his toy where he lay under the bed, terrified and crying. Then came a bomb and everything just exploded. Everything exploded and all that was left was half a toy cat.

Ed felt a strong urge to phone his brother just to make sure that he was safe and sound. Ever since Al got his body back, Ed had been much more stressed about his brother's wellbeing because now he could get sick. He could get colds. He could get hit by a car or shot by a bullet and actually die. He could fall down the stairs and break his neck. A lot of things could go wrong and seeing that reminder about Al made his big brotherly anxiousness triple instantly.

"Edward?" Mustang placed his hand on his right shoulder, startling him. Ed still wasn't quite used to actually being able to feel anything touching his right arm. "Are you sure that you're fine?"

"Yeah. Al just used to have one of those," Ed said, nodding his head towards the plush cat. That was one of the nice things about the way things had turned out with the General. It was actually possible to say stuff like that without being afraid of being mocked because the man understood and would actually say it when stuff bothered him too, so it was an Equivalent Exchange.

Mustang squeezed his shoulder and led him away from the sight. He only let go of it once they saw the military base. It was really just a lot of large tents and soldiers milling about. Ed had to say that shade sounded like a very good thing right now.

They walked up to the largest of the tents and Mustang flashed his pocket watch at the guards before they could even ask. Once again they received salutes and Mustang then led the way through the tent flap. They entered a rather cooler area that unfortunately didn't make up for the smell. It was never a good idea to put a bunch of soldiers inside a tent in a desert. Sweat permeated the room, making the air supply feel kind of restricted.

A man in his thirties smiled as he saw them, standing up from his desk before shaking hands with Ed and saluting Mustang. He had short, blonde curls and a thin moustache making his rather pointed chin even more visible. "General Mustang, Major Elric, I've heard so much about you! Let me assure you that it is an honour to meet such fine officers as yourselves. I'm Colonel John Fredricks."

"Hi," Ed said. He saw no point in saluting this guy if he really found it so honourable to meet them.

"Well, as I'm sure you were informed over the phone, this really isn't a good time to be here. Soldiers are being attacked, no doubt by those Ishbalan scoundrels. May I –"

"Why are you calling them that?" Ed interrupted him.

"I beg your pardon?" Fredricks seemed confused.

""Scoundrels" why do you call them that? What makes Ishbalans into scoundrels? I'd have thought that you'd might see them as victims when you see the destruction and suffering that happened here."

"Well, of course I don't mean all Ishbalans …" The man didn't seem too keen on starting off on the wrong foot.

"Yes, you do." After everything that had happened because of the Ishbalan War of Extermination, Ed was ready to challenge anyone who meant that the Ishbalans deserved it. It just reminded him of the homunculi.

"I, uhm, well …"

Mustang put a hand on Ed's arm to get him to cool down. Ed still couldn't understand how he could listen to people like this. He glared at Fredricks one last time then he turned around and sat himself on the chair standing a couple of metres to his left. He just crossed his arms and let Mustang deal with the self-righteous idiot on his own.

Ed watched as Fredricks tried to suck up to Mustang while he just talked calmly and professionally back at him. Apparently there had been quite a few attacks, although no deaths so far, but that seemed to have been luck more than anything. There had been reports of officers who had had limbs cut off during the attacks.

The two men talked for at least ten minutes until Mustang seemed satisfied and rolled up a map that he put in his own rucksack. Fredricks saluted them as they left the tent and Ed felt like he was finally able to breathe after being stuck inside that sweaty tent.

"That self-righteous bastard actually mean that Ishbalans are scoundrels? What the hell is wrong with him?" Ed whispered furiously.

"Yes, and there are plenty of people that believe likewise. We can't fight them all, it will only get you into trouble, especially here. The officers that are stationed here mostly think that way, so it would be better if you kept your opinions to yourself this time around." Mustang went over to a well and began refilling their water bottles. "We'll walk for about four hours and then we're setting up camp for the night around the North-Western guard point."

"Sure."

And so they walked, sweated, talked and then sweated a bit more for the next hours until they passed the guards and went into another district. They set up their tent and ate some canned food heated on a fire that Mustang had started by snapping his gloved fingers.

The sun began to set and with the lack of vegetation or houses, they witnessed a spectacular sunset as the sky was painted red, orange and peach. They didn't say anything about it, though. It had something to do with something so beautiful falling upon something so inhuman as their surroundings.

Once the sun disappeared, it got cold pretty quickly and they went inside the tent and curled up inside their sleeping bags.

"How can you listen to people like that and actually treat them with respect?" Ed asked. He'd been wondering about it for the last few hours. Mustang had a short temper, Ed knew that, so he'd have thought the man would have zero patience with people about the Ishbalan Massacre.

"Treating someone with respect doesn't necessarily mean that you respect them, Ed."

"But still –"

"It's one of the things you have to learn if you want to rise through the ranks. I've had plenty of training in that department and I have a goal pushing me forwards. It makes it worth listening to all the self-righteous bastards in the world."

"Makes sense, I guess. Well, good night, General." Ed turned over on his side, facing the older man.

Mustang reached a hand out of his sleeping bag and ruffled Ed's hair. "Good night, Ed. Thank you for doing this with me."

"Sure." And with that Ed closed his eyes, not bothering that the hand was now slowly stroking his cheek. And so he was soon asleep from the gentle, warm touch of the man that was the closest thing he had to father.

* * *

_"__I love you, Dad," Ed told the man with the golden beard. _

_Then suddenly he just left. He just left and he didn't come back._

_Ed stood watching that door, waiting for when it would open to reveal that Ed hadn't been fooled. That he had been loved. That he hadn't been a stupid kid._

_It didn't happen._

_He felt tears running down his cheeks._

_Ed looked to his right. Mom was dying in the room there._

_Ed closed his eyes. _

_He turned left. A great suit of armour was standing there, looking at a plate of food that he couldn't eat._

_Behind him Ed heard the wheezing as the thing from the failed transmutation reached out for him and then spewed out a lungful of blood._

_Then the front door was opened and Ed looked at it. Al, Winry and Granny were standing outside, looking at him. Ed wasn't supposed to be here, the house was about to be burned down. He saw himself walking up to the house, setting it on fire._

_Ed ran for the door, but the door slammed shut._

_"__You don't deserve us after everything that you messed up. Even now you're going to make things wrong again, aren't you?" Al's voice said, although much colder than Ed had ever heard it._

_Smoke was filling Ed's lungs, he couldn't breathe._

_I can't breathe! Help! I can't breathe!_

Ed woke with a start, finding Mustang's gloved hand covering his nose and mouth. The other was pinning his chest to keep him still. He was obviously trying to wake him quietly. Ed lifted his arms as much as he could while they were still inside the sleeping bag to show that he was awake.

"Somebody's outside the tent, be quiet," Mustang whispered urgently into his ear as he removed his hand.

Ed took a few deep breaths. It had felt a lot more urgent in the dream than it was in reality. Mustang didn't move other than that, so the pressure on Ed's chest was still there and he could hear the quiet breaths close to his ear. "I've got my ignition gloves on, don't move if they attack. If we're lucky, they only think there's one of us and then you can sneak up on them."

"Okay," Ed whispered back.

They waited for a few minutes and suddenly Ed saw something that made his heart sink. "They're burning the tent!"

Fire was slowly spreading across the entrance of the tent. Ed pulled his feet towards him.

He could only guess that Mustang had pulled his knife out from his rucksack as Ed suddenly heard a ripping sound a few seconds after the pressure on his chest disappeared. Next second Mustang was pulling Ed out of the sleeping bag by his armpits like he was some kind of child, before he headed out the newly made opening and snapped, probably to make a distraction. Half the tent was burning now and Ed suddenly felt a couple of arms drag him out. They didn't belong to the General however, so Ed quickly elbowed the guy in the stomach as soon as he got the chance. The man let go of him which was when Ed saw what had happened to Mustang. He was lying on the ground just outside the tent and was clearly unconscious.

Four dark clad guys jumped on Ed and he began fighting them, punching one, kicking another, elbowing a third. But the fourth one managed to get in a well-aimed punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Ed fell to his knees and had another two guys pinning him to the ground as they tied his wrists together tightly and then did the same with his ankles.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Ed shouted, but that only earned him a gag.

The original four guys went over to Mustang and picked him up, carrying him away from Ed. Ed kept shouting profanities into his gag as he was lifted up on some muscular guy's shoulder and carried away backwards.

Ed was pissed off, yes, but for once, he was also scared. Not having his alchemy anymore made him a lot more vulnerable and definitely an easier target. This was the first time anything like this had happened since Ed was cleared for field work.

He struggled as much as he could, but there really wasn't any point. Ed didn't know how long he was being carried like that, but he felt pricking in his arms from being tied behind his back. After what had to be at least thirty minutes, the muscular guy threw him inside the backseat of a car and slammed the door closed. The car took off with a squeal of the tires and Ed was soon being thrown about as the driver used the steering wheel in a most unpractised fashion.

Ed didn't know where they were as the car was parked, only that he was car sick for the first time in his life. The muscular guy lifted him out again and carried him inside a cave that seemed to hide some sort of temporary base. The man dropped Ed to the ground which he soon realised was covered in blood. He felt his stomach clench. If these were the guys that cut off people's limbs, then Ed knew from experience that he was in for a world of pain.

Ed felt a needle being plunged into his neck. He shouted into his gag for whoever it was to get the hell away from him, but he only heard laughter instead from his attacker. He soon felt his body going limp and he wouldn't have been able to move even if he hadn't been tied up. He felt the gag being removed from his mouth and Ed was embarrassed as hell to realise that he was now drooling uncontrollably onto the bloody stone ground.

Someone grabbed his hair and pulled his face up. Ed looked straight at a guy dressed in a military uniform, and judging by his many medals, he was probably a high-ranking officer as well.

_Ah, shit. Can't the military be on my side just for once?_

"Hello, Edward," the man began, grinning at him. He had black hair and a black beard with traces of red and grey in it. Ed would have guessed he was in his mid-forties. "I heard you don't like the military occupation of Ishbal. So sad." He grinned wider. "For you, that is. For you and that soft-hearted Brigadier General of yours."

Ed glared.

"Don't worry, we can't really kill you both, people won't trust the military if we kill the great Roy Mustang. You, on the other hand, you're _expendable_. You're old news now that you no longer have your alchemy. But don't fear, we have one last big task for you. You're going to scare Roy Mustang away from Ishbal."

Ed rolled his eyes. There was no way he would do that.

"Oh, you misunderstand me, Edward, you will do so whether you want to or not. You're going to be an example of what happens if he doesn't back off, so I'm sorry, kid, but you're not going to leave this place in one piece." Then he laughed. A hoarse, thin laugh. "Or alive, for that matter."

* * *

Roy woke up as the alarm clock rang. It said six in the morning.

So it was just a nightmare. Good. That meant that Ed was safe. Roy hadn't gone to visit Ishbal with him no matter how vivid the nightmare had been. They hadn't been attacked and he hadn't been knocked unconscious as he left the tent.

He hadn't ruffled Ed's hair as he said good night and had let the hand rest on the boy's cheek as he fell asleep a few minutes after him.

That last part actually left him a bit sad. He had grown very fond of the Elrics and was in a way seeing himself as their semi-adoptive father. If the invincible, untouchable Edward Elric had actually allowed him to show that simple sign of affection, then Roy would have been very happy.

He stood up from the bed and went downstairs to find himself some breakfast, only to find a cardboard box standing at the bottom if the stairs.

Roy felt his stomach clench as he saw the red liquid that had soaked through the bottom of the box. He walked carefully towards it, finding an envelope on the top of the box. He picked it up, sliding it open and pulled out the letter inside.

**_General Mustang, we suggest that you stop your interference in Ishbal if you don't want to see your other subordinates this way as well._**

**_P.S. It goes without saying, but if you mention the connection to Ishbal to anybody, we'll take that Alphonse kid you seem to care so much about too._**

Roy felt sick. He looked at the box in front of him again.

_Oh_ _god, no. Please, please, please no. It was a nightmare! It was a nightmare!_

He opened the box shakily.

Then he threw up. He threw up until he was crying and shivering and couldn't stand anymore. His insides had been twisted again and again and his whole body was aching with emotional pain.

_Maybe they're just teasing. Maybe it's not him, maybe it's just another person's blonde hair._

Roy shivered violently as he stood up again and grasped the golden hair, slowly turning the decapitated head around.

His knees gave out and he felt like he could hardly breathe. There weren't anybody else with that fringe and that antenna combination. Not with that hair colour. Even if the eyes had been gouged out, leaving bloody craters in the young face and the teeth had been pulled out so that the lips slightly sunk into the mouth, there was no doubt.

Roy's chest, stomach, everything, _hurt_. It ached with a hollow pain that kept him from breathing properly. He was in agony.

It was even worse than with Maes because he had promised himself to protect the boy.

_His_ boy.

Edward Elric.

Was _dead_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

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**Chapter two**

Ed's head was pounding. He was sitting, maybe in a car. It sounded like a car.

He opened his eyes sluggishly. Definitely a car.

_What happened?_

Ed tried moving, but he couldn't get his limbs to listen. His face was leaning against the passenger side window. It was dark outside. He looked to his right, trying to get a view of the driver when he realised something.

_No. What the hell?!_

He tried desperately to remember what had happened. When _that_ had happened.

_Where the hell is my hair?!_

All he could remember was lying on that cave floor as some creepy doctor guy stuck another syringe into his neck and after that, everything turned black.

But why was he still alive? Why did they fucking shave his head? They said they were going to kill him. That they'd cut him into pieces.

Ed looked over at the driver. It was Colonel Fredricks. And he did not look happy. He was clearly stressed and was clutching the steering wheel with all his might. Ed hated that all he could do was watch. He couldn't move, he couldn't make a sound, just watch, hoping to get some eye contact so that someone would explain to him just what the hell was going on.

Ed stared at Fredricks for about five minutes until he finally got some reaction from the man. As a result, he turned the steering wheel sharply before righting the car again. "You're awake!"

Ed just stared at him. Fredricks was definitely outside his comfort zone. He was sweating and chewing his lip. "I expect you have some questions."

Ed felt like hitting him. Of course he had questions!

"I'm sorry about the drug, but I couldn't have you waking up before I got to explain everything. The drug will wear off in an hour or two."

Ed blinked at him to get him to continue.

"Your superior is lying in the backseat, he's unconscious. You were attacked about twenty-four hours ago and we're on our way to the General's house. The others, except for the doctor, believe you to be dead. I got the job of dropping you off. I smuggled you out with the help from the doctor. You're going to have to go into hiding once we reach East. I'm dropping you off with a friend of mine. He's military too. He'll look after you."

Fredricks didn't say anything else, and Ed felt himself getting impatient. Once Ed had regained control of his arms and legs, he turned around to see Mustang lying in the backseat. He put his hands on top of his head only to feel the dread multiply. He was fucking bald. _Nothing_ was left. He was sixteen and _bald_. He hadn't even been bald when he was born. "JUST WHERE THE HELL IS MY HAIR!?"

Fredricks swerved again at the outburst.

"The box," the man said stiffly, looking like he wanted to gag.

Ed looked curiously down at the box by his feet. He hadn't noticed it before now. He leaned down and opened it, suddenly realising why Fredricks acted like he did. Inside the box was a perfect replica of Ed's face, except for the missing eyes and teeth. And his hair was hanging on to the bloody head as if it originally belonged to it. There was also a lot of blood inside the box. "What the hell is this?!" Ed was disgusted and the smell was nauseating.

"Like I said, they think you're dead." Fredricks sighed while Ed turned the face away from him and then closed the box again. "Lucky for you, the doctor's been dabbling in biological alchemy for years and was able to put that together using some of the limbs that we cut off the other soldiers. He also took some blood from you so that the tests will say that it's you."

Ed felt a sudden urge to just grab Mustang and get the hell out of the car. These people were sick. Ed had a feeling that it wasn't an option however, especially since there were apparently a lot of soldiers in on this. Ed needed to know what was going on here. "Why am I still alive?"

"Listen, I know we may not agree on our view of Ishbalans, but I agreed to hurting a few soldiers to put the blame on those scum for the greater good. I never agreed to killing kids. I'm not that bad."

"You think it's okay to cut off people's limbs so that you can keep oppressing an innocent group of people?!"

"Like I said, I know we don't agree."

"What are you going to do with the head?" Ed asked, dreading the answer.

"We're going to dump Mustang off at his home and leave the head there for him to find with a note warning him to stay out of Ishbal."

"The hell you will! I'm not gonna do that to him!" Ed felt anger surge through him. After everything that had happened with Hughes, Ed wasn't going to put him through losing one of his subordinates. He wasn't going to put Al through losing his brother just after he finally got his body back.

"You don't have a choice, kid. We're everywhere. There are eyes and ears everywhere. If you're not dead, they're just going to take your brother and this time we may not be so lucky."

"YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER!"

"I'm just saying it as it is. Or they'll take one of his other subordinates. We can't have Mustang giving Ishbal back."

"SO YOU'D BE FINE KILLING THE OTHERS?! IT'S JUST BECAUSE I'M A KID?! YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS BASTARD!" Ed had half a mind to beat the guy to a pulp, but if he was right, then Ed would be putting Al's life at risk.

"Shut your mouth! I saved your life! I'm saving your life as we speak!" Fredricks was getting impatient which meant that his nervousness was returning. "You should be thanking me! If anybody knew what I was doing, I'd be dead!"

"You're asking me to thank you for breaking the hearts of everyone that I care about?!"

Fredricks went quiet after that.

"Just how many are there of you?"

"About a hundred. You'll never beat us, kid. Just get yourself a new life. Start anew. Edward Elric is dead as of now."

Ed didn't know what to say. He kept imagining what this would mean for his family and friends. Mustang would probably be sick when he saw the head. Then there was the rest of the team. And Winry. He wasn't supposed to make her cry. Not Granny either.

And Al. His dear little brother. Al would be devastated. Ed was supposed to pay him back for all the years he had lost in that hollow body. He never wanted one of the first things that Al would feel was the death of his older brother. Al was easily emotional these days, he had five years of feelings to catch up on after all. He was so unused to emotional pain and tears, he cried about almost everything. He even shed tears of joy just because he felt it when a wasp stung him. When Al had been told about their father's death, he had nearly been broken by it. Ed didn't want to put him through it, but he couldn't let anyone know that he was still alive. Not when it meant the death of his family and friends.

Dammit!

Ed felt tears welling at the corners of his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away.

This wasn't fair. Not to anyone. Things were supposed to be fine and happy now. Not this mess.

Ed stared out of the passenger side window for the rest of the trip until they pulled up into Mustang's driveway.

They got out of the car and Ed stopped Fredricks when he moved to carry Mustang. "You can take the head thing, but you're not laying your filthy hands in the General." Fact was, the man repulsed him and Ed wanted to say goodbye to the General in a proper way.

"Your choice, kid. Just dump him on his bed." Fredricks seemed a lot more gathered and Ed had a nasty feeling that this man was much too used to doing stuff like this. It made Ed's skin crawl just to be near him. He may have saved his life, but the man was still twisted. "And remove his outer clothes, he's supposed to think all this was just a dream."

Ed dragged Mustang out of the car before he lifted him up on his shoulder. He waited for Fredricks to unlock the door before he carried the man upstairs and into his bedroom and carefully lay him down on his bed. He then removed the shoes, socks, trousers, jacket and shirt, leaving the man in his undershirt and boxers.

Ed then pulled the covers over him and watched the sleeping form. Ed was going to miss him. He was going to miss everyone, but he was at least going to have one proper goodbye. Ed sat down on the bed and then let himself lie down on Mustang's chest, letting frustrated, grieving tears run down his cheeks as he hugged him. "I'm sorry for doing this to you. Please take care of Al for me. He's gonna need you more than ever now, so don't you dare pull that same crap you did with Hughes and just try to burn these people. I know you're really a softie so you'd better let Al see that side all the time from now on instead of that bastardly stuff. And take care of the rest of the team. And yourself. Don't you dare let yourself fall to pieces over this, because I lost my fucking hair to keep the others safe."

Ed sighed deeply, hugging him tighter. "And thank you for these last few months. Thank you for caring about me and Al and letting me stay with you while he was in the hospital. Thank you for everything. No matter what you may have told me and Al in the hospital, you have been a great Dad these last few months. I'm sorry that this is my way to repay you. I guess I'm being a lousy son, just giving you extra work like this, but don't you dare leave Al alone. You two are gonna need each other to get through this, so it's your job as our honorary father to make sure that your remaining son doesn't fall to pieces."

Ed kissed his cheek. "Take care, Dad."

Then Ed stood up, wiped away his tears and went out of the room, not knowing what his life had in store for him.

Although he knew one thing: he may stay dead to keep his friends and family safe, but there was no way in hell that he was gonna let these bastards get away with his murder.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

The smell was horrible. It was definitely decaying human flesh. The smell of his dead subordinate was filling the hallway, making him gag. He needed help. He couldn't deal with this on his own. He needed Hawkeye to help him.

Roy could still feel the soft golden hair in his fingers. It was choking him.

Somebody had just left Edward's head in that box as a surprise for Roy. He felt the tears pressing, then just streaming down his face. He staggered over to the phone and dialled the number to Hawkeye's apartment, hoping that she was home.

"Riza Hawkeye speaking."

Roy sank to the floor, his back against the wall. He was just breathing into the phone, still choking on his tears.

"Roy? What's wrong?" Hawkeye had obviously recognised the sound of his breathing and had reverted to calling him by his first name as this obviously was personal.

"Hawkeye, please … It's Ed … he … he's … I can't … _help_." Roy couldn't get himself to say it. Everything hurt. With Maes he hadn't been alone. He hadn't found his _head_. He had been at work. He'd had a reason to keep himself together. But now he was alone and it was _Ed_. It was _his kid_.

"Where are you?" Hawkeye said.

"Home."

"I'll be right there."

The phone was hung up.

Roy was still holding the letter in his left hand. Hawkeye couldn't see that. Nobody could. He pulled an ignition glove out of the drawer next to him and slid it over his fingers. He put the letter down on the stone floor and snapped. He watched as the threat against those he cared about vanished and was replaced by ashes, but it didn't change anything. Ed was dead. His Ed. Roy didn't even try to stop the tears. All he did was put the glove back inside the drawer and closed it.

Then he put his head in his hands as he felt himself trapped within his body. He couldn't breathe, his chest hurt so much. He was drowning in tears. He had never lost it like this before. He had always had something that would drive him forwards. With Hughes it had been revenge, but now Roy couldn't do that. He was obviously at fault for this. Ed was his punishment. He had got him killed. He had got him slaughtered and left inside a cardboard box without the rest of his body. They wouldn't have anything other than a head to bury and Roy couldn't even go back to Ishbal to search for the rest of the body without putting Al and the rest if his team at risk.

And Al. What would he tell Al?

The hollow, pain-filled balloon that kept growing inside his chest was pulsating at the thought. Ed was really gone. His stubborn kid was gone.

_Gone._

Roy just sat there, crying, until the door opened and Hawkeye came in and knelt in front of him, putting a hand on his upper arm. "Roy, what's going on? You're supposed to be in Ishbal with Edward."

Roy couldn't even look at her. At the mention of the name his chest constricted and he couldn't breathe. Instead he just pointed towards the box that held the boy's head. Hawkeye stood up and Roy soon heard her gag. Then came the click of a gun right before it was emptied into the wall. Roy didn't care. He could hear her crying silently. She sat down on the floor in front of him.

"They gave you his _head?_" was all she managed to say. "What happened?"

"We were attacked. I woke up in my bed. I thought it was just a nightmare. Then I found him. Hawkeye, what do I tell Alphonse? He's waiting for us in Resembool."

Hawkeye was quiet for a few seconds and then she leaned forwards and grasped his hands in hers. "Roy, you need to be there for him. You can't close yourself off like you did with Hughes. E-Edward wouldn't want that."

Roy could practically hear Edward say that. It gave him a feeling of déjà vu. Had Ed said that to him? Had it happened during the attack somehow?

God, how he just wanted to hug him like everything was alright and he was still alive and breathing and in one piece. He had yet to give the boy a hug. It just hadn't felt right because he had been afraid of crossing some kind of boundary because god knew how messed up things had been with Hohenheim.

And now it was too late.

Al had been different. He had hugged him the moment he was done talking to them in the hospital. And Hawkeye was right. Al was going to need him. And Roy was going to need Al. He just didn't know how to tell Al that his brother was gone. How the hell could he do that to him?

* * *

Ed was lying on top of a hill, a pair of binoculars pressed against his eyes, watching through the window as Mustang cried his heart out. Ed had never seen the man look so broken, it made him want to just punch Fredricks beside him and run forwards to show Mustang that he was alive.

"Sir? The package has been delivered and received. The bird is with him now," Fredricks said into the radio in his hand.

"Good. Report back here by eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. That is all," a male voice answered.

Ed punched the ground beside him in frustration as Fredricks put the radio away. "You bastard! I guess you're happy now?!" Ed hissed, wiping a tear away.

"Yes. You're not dead and Mustang stays out of Ishbal. Everybody wins."

"And what does he gain?! He's trying to make things right and all he's getting for it is a dead subordinate! What about my brother?!"

"Shut up, kid." Fredricks didn't seem moved at all. Ed wouldn't have been surprised if the guy didn't possess any empathy at all.

"Why would you save me if you don't care?!" Ed hissed, his fists clenched. Ed just wanted to run away from this disgusting man. But he needed to get to the bottom of this. He needed to stop these people so that he could safely tell Mustang that he was alive. So that he could hug his little brother again. "Why is it so important for you not to kill a kid?" The man was getting less and less nervous the more he was assured that he was in control of the situation.

"You just don't," was all that Fredricks offered. His eyes told a story of something traumatic from his past, however. Ed couldn't help but wonder which kid it was that had died. What repercussions it had had for him. "Come on, we're done here. I'm dropping you off at my friend's and then we'll never meet again. If you speak of this to anyone other than my friend, you're dead, even if it won't be by my hands."

They stood up and went back to the car, Ed took a last glance at the house as he heard shots being fired. Hawkeye obviously didn't take the news well either.

"I'm so sorry," Ed whispered before he walked down the hill. "I'll make this right. Just take care of yourselves and Al for me until then."

He sat himself back inside the car. They drove in silence. Ed honestly didn't have anything else he wanted to say to this man.

When the car pulled up outside a red brick building, Ed got out of the car quickly enough and followed Fredricks inside. The man knocked on the door of one of the apartments. After a minute, a man in his early thirties opened it, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing boxers, a white undershirt and an open blue dressing gown. His red hair was was tied back in a ponytail and he had a bit of a red beard covering about a two-inch area of his chin. "Hiya, John, what's up?"

"We need to talk."

The man stood back to let them inside.

"You're not sick, are you, kid?" the stranger asked, eyeing Ed's bald head. He looked a bit worried.

"No. His pal cut it while I was asleep!" Ed said, a vein twitching at his temple while pointing at Fredricks.

The man formed his mouth into an O. He didn't seem too sharp to be honest and the apartment was small and dirty. There were pizza boxes strewn about the place and the faucet in the small kitchen was dripping.

"So, what's up?" he asked, closing the door.

Fredricks explained the gist of it and Ed could only guess that this was another one of those anti-Ishbal jerks. This wasn't going to go well. Ed would probably hit this guy within the hour the way this was going.

"Sure, I'll take him in. I hope you don't mind the couch, though, kid."

Ed groaned.

"Thanks, Greg." With that, Fredricks closed the front door and left.

The Greg guy looked at the door for about twenty seconds, then he turned about abruptly, closing his dressing gown and tying it up. He then looked at Ed again, suddenly seeming a lot more present and awake. "Sorry about that, I'll explain everything to you. Name's First Lieutenant Greg Wilson. What's yours?"

"Edward Elric." Ed was surprised by this sudden change in demeanour.

"So you're him? I'm sorry, this must be so rough on your brother. And leaving that head is just cruel to the General. Don't worry, kid, we're going to fix this. Those bastards aren't going to get away with this." The man smiled reassuringly.

"What do you mean? What's going on here? I thought you were friends with him?"

"Yes and no. I used to be. Then everything changed when that kid died and those folks took him in. Met him again at the Academy. But he wasn't the kid I knew and I'm not sure if he ever was. Come on, I'll find you something to eat and then we're going to meet some people that will be very interested in what you have to say."

Ed eyed the old boxes of pizza nervously, but the man began laughing. "Don't worry, Major. It's just a part of my cover. They've never been used once." He strolled over and opened one of them for Ed to see. It was spotless inside. "I guess after what you've been through, a nice wok will taste good, what do you say?"

Ed was still a bit unsure. Was this man serious? Had Ed really stumbled upon an actually nice officer? His stomach rumbled though and Greg laughed again.

"I guess that means yes. Don't worry, you're safe here. The only one who's being fooled is Fredricks. And sorry about your hair. That's cruel. I know how long it takes to save up." He pointed towards his own head. "We'll find you a wig, although not a blonde one. And you're probably going to need coloured contact lenses, your eyes are a dead giveaway."

"You're actually serious?" Ed asked. The man seemed caffeinated as hell to be honest and Ed thought all this had to be some cruel joke. This was all happening way too fast.

Greg walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. "Deadly." The man wasn't kidding, those eyes weren't lying. Then he grinned. "Now let's get started on that wok!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, shorter chapter, I know, but it just felt like a good place to stop.**

**And I'm so tired of writing disclaimers, so I'm just going to let this one count for the entire story: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

* * *

**Chapter four**

Roy didn't go to the office that day. Nor did he stay at his house. It was a crime scene after all. Ed's head had been taken in for an autopsy, but the blood stain had soaked into the carpet underneath it. Roy would have to change it, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't do it when he knew that the stain came from Ed's blood. He would see it whenever he walked past that spot no matter what sort if rug he bought. He could buy a sparkling pink one and it wouldn't make a fucking difference. The MPs had decided that it was a good idea to take the carpet as evidence and Roy was happy for it. At least he didn't have to remove it himself. Now all he had to do was sell the house and get the hell away from that place.

He was sitting on a chair in some hallway at HQ, just finished with being questioned while lying through his teeth about how he didn't really know why Ed was killed. That he didn't know why they did it like that. That somebody had obviously just heard about how the pair of them where checking out the Ishbalan areas and used the opportunity to get at them because they would be fewer in numbers and that was it.

He had never before said so much bullshit to his colleagues, but because he was a General and obviously devoid of guilt, they didn't question it.

Havoc put a hand on his shoulder. He had come to fetch him to stay with him at the dorms. He was almost as pale as Roy. He didn't even have the usual cigarette in the corner of his mouth, something about how "it wouldn't taste any good anyway." Havoc knew how much the Elrics had come to mean to him these last few months, he had visited them plenty of times during Alphonse's stay in the hospital.

"Boss? You okay to go?"

"Is it wrong of me to suddenly wish that Doctor Marcoh hadn't healed me?" Roy said quietly. "Then I wouldn't have to see Ed's face every time I close my eyes now."

"I know it's not easy, Boss, but you can't think like that. It will get better."

"Havoc, they didn't just cut off his head. They _gouged_ out his eyes and _ripped_ _out_ his teeth. A sixteen-year-old kid and I don't even know if it was before or after they killed him! Tell me how the hell that will get better? I was supposed to protect him. He didn't even have his alchemy anymore which meant it was _my duty_ to protect him. I failed him. I failed Alphonse."

Havoc was quiet for a few seconds, letting the information sink in. "Does Al know yet?"

"No. I want to be absolutely sure that it is Ed before I tell him."

"Do you think there's any chance that it isn't him?"

"No." Roy put his head in his hands. "Why the hell would they choose Ed? The kid didn't have a selfish bone in his body! He only stayed with the military so that he could put his little brother through university!"

"Boss, you should tell Al before anybody else does. Stuff like this doesn't stay quiet. He should at least hear it from you."

"Resembool is a day's drive away from here."

"Then we're going for a road trip."

"You talked to Hawkeye, didn't you?" Roy said, knowing that these words were definitely the Captain's.

"Yes, and I agree with them wholeheartedly. We can reach Resembool by nightfall, that way we'll be able to reach them before the news do."

* * *

It wasn't a cheerful car ride at all. Roy kept dreading what the news would do to the kid, yet all too soon they pulled up outside the yellow house.

"I'll stay in the car, Boss. You just take whatever time you need," Havoc said, offering them a bit of privacy.

Roy walked up to the house, somehow able to move his legs forwards although he had no recollection of ever telling them that he wanted them to do so. His hand knocked twice on the door, it too was working on its own accord. How was he still able to move naturally when his body felt like it had been destroyed from the inside out? Like it had been flattened, twisted and cut into a million pieces? Surely he should be lying dead on the ground like the bloody pulp he felt he had been reduced to?

Pinako opened the door. "Ah, General Mustang, I suspect you and Ed want to talk to Alphonse? I'll call him down for –" She looked up at Roy's defeated look and her eyes filled with tears. "Where's Ed?" Her voice was sharp.

A blonde head peeked around the door into the living room. "Oh, hi, Roy! Are you and Ed done already?"

Pinako stood back to let Roy inside. Alphonse looked at him and looked expectantly at the door behind him, but paled once Pinako shut it without any sign of the older Elric. Al walked forwards, eyes trying desperately to see any answers. "Where's Brother? He's not hurt again, is he?" Al was getting more anxious and he strode forwards, only standing about two feet away from him now, grasping Roy's arms. "Tell me!" His eyes filled with tears.

"Al, I'm sorry –" Roy felt his own tears brimming as well now.

"NO! HE CAN'T BE! DON'T TELL ME THAT!" Al then took a step forwards and punched Roy in the face before he began sobbing against Roy's left shoulder. Al's knees gave out and Roy didn't have enough strength in his own to keep them both standing, and so they sank to their knees, Roy holding around him as Al screamed with grief. Roy's own tears were streaming down his cheeks now, which just had to be when Winry came looking curiously through the doorway only to gasp and have Pinako rush over to her and close the door behind behind them. A few seconds later he heard loud sobbing coming from the hallway behind the now closed door hiding the two Rockbells.

Roy felt like his whole body was being ripped apart from the inside out, but Al also sounded like it. It made it even harder for Roy. "I'm so sorry, Al." Roy's voice was choked by his own tears.

"I want to see him! I want to make sure it's really him!" Al looked up at him a little madly and Roy knew he was grasping at straws, trying to find a way for it not to be Ed.

"Al, you can't."

"WHY NOT?! WHY CAN'T I EVEN SEE HIM?!" Al's face was filled with a kind of sorrow-stricken fury that made Roy sure that his chest must have been run through with a large pole. He couldn't breathe. His lungs must have been punctured and he should be coughing up blood because he had to be dying with this amount of pain.

"Because they gave me his head." Roy barely got the words out.

That was it for Al. He grew limp in Roy's arms, clearly having fainted from the shock. Roy sat there, cursing himself for not even being able to carry the boy over to one of the living room couches. But fact was, Roy didn't have any strength left in his body to do it. And so he just lay Al against his chest and waited for him to return to consciousness.

Al blinked slowly, tears running down his cheeks. "Roy? I –?" Then his eyes widened. "NO! BROTHER! WHY?!" He began weakly hitting his fists against Roy's chest and Roy just held him tighter and kissed his forehead. "I don't want this! Please don't tell me it's true! PLEASE!" Al was shrieking with sorrow. "PLEASE, ROY! PLEASE!"

"I'm so sorry, Al. So, so sorry."

Roy didn't know how long he sat there, kneeling with Al resting against his chest, bawling his heart out. All Roy knew was that he had never experienced such pain as this. Getting stabbed by Lust was nothing compared to this. He hadn't been able to breathe properly for more than twelve hours now. He just wanted to lie down and sleep somewhere in order to get some relief from the pain.

"I'm going back with you to East City. I want to take part in the investigation."

"Al, I can't let you do that."

"Please, Roy, I need to! I NEED TO!"

"Al, it's not safe for you …"

"I DON'T CARE! THEY CUT OFF MY BROTHER'S HEAD! I NEED TO DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING! PLEASE! TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Al looked so desperately into Roy's eyes, he couldn't say no. Besides, like that imaginary Ed had said, he had to take care of Al. He owed Ed at least that, didn't he?

"Okay, Al."

"Thank you, Roy." Al was still crying, he just didn't have enough breath left to sob anymore.

Roy just squeezed him tighter, tears still running down his own cheeks.

* * *

**I really hope I did this part of the story justice, because I've had the refrain from Paul Simon's _You Can Call Me Al_ playing continuously through my head for the entire chapter and it's driving me insane because it's waaaaaay too cheerful for the mood of this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five**

"Okay, just what the hell is going on here?" Ed asked, looking over at Greg as he dutifully ate his bowl of wok. It was great, really, which kind of annoyed Ed, as he was sitting there, bald, eating as if he hadn't eaten for weeks, not just under thirty-six hours.

"Well, Major, let's just say it like this: me and my friends are great fans of what General Mustang is trying to do in Ishbal." Greg looked at Ed's quickly emptying bowl and went to get the pan and fill the bowl again. Ed kept eating as the man filled up his bowl. It was delicious and Ed was starving. "Don't call me "Major", it's just Ed."

"Ed it is." The man sat down in his chair on the other side of the small kitchen table. "I'd rather go into details with the rest of the team present, if that's okay with you. I'm going to go take a shower and then I'll see if I've got something else for you to wear."

"Sure."

Ed was dying to get some answers soon, and he couldn't help but trust Greg. He had the same eye colour as Mom. They spoke of some of the same kind qualities that she had. And so Ed ate, drank some orange juice, ate and drank some more, finally feeling like his stomach was full. He burped slightly.

Once again Ed ran his hands over his bald head. He hated it. His hair had been a part of him for his whole life. It was a part of his identity. Of his image. Not having his fringe slightly limit his view made him kind of paranoid. Besides, he could still remember having Mom ruffling his hair when he was small. And now also the General. And Al had continuously run his fingers through Ed's hair as he lay in the hospital, amazed at actually being able to feel it. Al had joked about wondering what his hair had felt like ever since he decided to grow it out. Al's own hair had been so thin and unhealthy that it didn't compare according to him, so Al had spent a few hours the first days, laughing as he patted Ed's hair and finger brushed it. Ed knew it seemed weird to most people, but Al hadn't been able to feel anything for five years, and, although Ed would furiously deny it and hit people if they suggested it, Ed was actually careful about using shampoo and conditioner in order to keep his hair as soft and healthy as he had. He had done that just to make sure that Al would be able to feel it once he got his body back. It almost felt like he had lost a beloved pet now. A pet that required daily grooming and that lived on his head, keeping him warm when it was cold. And he missed his antenna. It had made him even taller than he was, because he hadn't been sma – not _that_ tall. It was just an unusually tall world and people were freaks.

And now his hair had been used to do that to the General. To Alphonse. They had stolen his hair in order to fake him being dead. Ed hated it, he really did. Why couldn't they just have used some fake hair?

**_Because you've got genes from a dead civilisation and nobody has that colour anymore._**

"DAMMIT!" Ed hit the table with his right fist. He'd hit it a bit harder than he'd been planning to and bit his lip. He still wasn't used to not having the automail.

He was going to have to leave everything behind him. He was finally allowed to be himself after the Promised Day and now this stupid crap was happening. _And it left him fucking bald_.

Ed hadn't even seen himself in the mirror, he didn't dare. How the hell must he look right now? He was a bald sixteen-year-old.

Ed banged his head repeatedly against the table, making the cutlery clink with each impact.

_I'm bald. I'm fucking bald. Those bastards made me bald. __**Bald.**_

"Damn those people! They used my hair to make a fucking doll! They used it to break my brother's heart! TO HELL WITH IT!" Ed shoved the bowl to the floor, making it break. "WHY THE HECK DO I DESERVE THIS?! WHY DOES MUSTANG AND AL AND WINRY AND GRANNY?! WHY CAN'T LIFE JUST BE ON MY SIDE FOR ONCE?! JUST ONE FUCKING TIME?! WHERE THE HELL IS MY EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE?!"

Ed sent the chair flying against the wall before he slammed his hands against the table. "_I thought you were done with me, Truth, or God or whatever you call yourself! If this is my punishment for Al, then fine, but what about them? What the hell did they do to deserve this?! Where's the Equivalent Exchange?!_" Ed growled quietly.

He felt tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

_Haven't I given enough?_

Ed wiped his tears away quickly as he heard Greg walk out of the bathroom. He had forgotten about not being alone here. Just how much had he heard?

The man took one look at the room and shrugged. "Only helps the cover. Well, I guess it's time to meet the rest of the gang." He threw a him a blue hoodie and a pair of jeans. "I guess these will have to do. You can use the hood to cover your head."

Ed took the clothes under his arm and walked past Greg, now fully dressed in his uniform. "Sorry," Ed said quietly.

"Listen, Ed, it's okay, I get you. This isn't easy for you, nobody would think so. If you want to take a shower, you start it by turning the left knob upwards and hot water's downwards on the right one. Sorry about the shabbiness, but I swear I keep it clean here. I've got this way to make this place look like a mess within forty seconds."

"Oh, right, thanks." Ed looked up at him. "Do you deal with stuff like this often?"

"Nope. But trust me, that couch is comfy as hell."

"Right." Ed went past him and into the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and sighed. Then he saw his reflection in the mirror. It didn't look like him without his hair. Ed pulled off his bloody, dusty, sweaty clothes and sat himself down in the tub before he pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face in them.

He was actually dead. As far as everyone he loved knew, he was dead. And he didn't even know how long it would be before he could stop this. He had never felt this alone in his life. He'd been a fugitive just half a year ago, but this was worse. This time he had helped cause those he loved pain. He had placed Mustang in his bed so that he could find that head thing.

And Al. Ed really hoped that the General would take care of him. Those two were going to drown if they didn't help each other.

Ed felt tears in his eyes again. He'd cried more now than he'd done for a decade. He felt so small and weak right now. He was losing everything that he'd finally gained.

And honestly, when they found out, would they ever forgive him?

* * *

The walk through East City didn't last long. Greg was chatty as hell, but it was at least nicer than being stuck in the car with Fredricks. They turned down a narrow gap between two houses so that they had to walk sideways. Ed was beginning to wonder if the man was pulling Ed's leg when he suddenly pushed a door open halfway through and went inside the house to the right.

Ed followed him down a set of stone steps. They were in some sort of stone passage lit by a few lightbulbs.

"Nearly there, Ed."

Ed followed him until they came to a steel door that Greg opened for them and gestured for Ed to walk ahead. They entered a clean, brightly lit room lined with bookshelves of folders, the walls were plastered with pictures of officers and in the middle of the room were a group of four people looking curiously up at him from where they sat at a large table. The four people jumped to their feet, pulling out their guns. The nearest, a rather small man with a lot of muscle, began shouting at him. "SHOW ME YOUR HANDS AND LOWER YOUR HOOD!"

"Hey, Ezra, take it easy! You're pointing your gun at Edward Elric!" Greg said.

Ezra's eyes widened and he put down his gun and saluted. "Major Elric! It's an honour!" His eyes were closed and he looked deadly serious. His brown skin was instantly covered in sweat. "I'm dreadfully sorry for pointing my gun at such a celebrated officer as yourself, sir!"

"It's just Ed and stop saluting, I don't need it," Ed said, feeling uncomfortable. The remaining three people, two men and a woman, were all saluting him too.

Greg closed the heavy door. "Fredricks came and delivered him at my place this morning. Those bastards faked his death by cutting off his hair, so Angela, find that undercover set of yours."

The woman stood up. Ed liked Greg's prioritising. Soon the Angela woman placed a large box in front of him, smiling kindly. "Pick whatever you like," she said as she pulled open the lid.

Ed began rummaging through the box and after about a minute, he found a wig that he guessed he could live with. It seemed to combine both him, Al and Mustang and would work as a way to remind him what he was fighting for. The hair was the same shape as Al's, but black like Mustang's. And it had an antenna for Ed.

"You like that one? Here, I'll help you," Angela said. She seemed very motherly, although she was still in her early twenties. She placed the wig carefully on his head and then handed him a mirror from inside the box. It looked odd, but it was a damn sight better than the baldness and made him relax a bit more.

Greg put his hand on Ed's shoulder and led him to the table. "Okay, Ed, tell us everything you can."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six**

Roy sat in the backseat with Al hugged to his side. Silent tears kept running down the boy's cheeks. Al had insisted on going back to East immediately. Roy felt bad about asking Havoc to drive for that long, but the man was more than happy to. The only problem was that Roy would have to find somewhere else for the two of them to stay. They could just check in at a military hotel for the time being.

Roy was tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw that head.

He still had that odd feeling of having heard Ed's last wishes. That he wanted Roy to take care of Al. That they needed each other to get through this. If it was just Roy's imagination, he didn't know, but it sounded like Ed and he was sure that that is what he would have said.

He hugged Alphonse tighter. The boy was just fifteen and he had already lost his mother and father. Now he'd lost his only remaining blood relative. His only brother. The boy had lost the person that had taken care of him for eleven years. It just wasn't right. It really wasn't. Al didn't deserve this. Ed didn't deserve this.

And Roy would honour Ed's final wish, whether it really happened or not.

"Al, you know that you're free to stay with me for however long you want," Roy said quietly to him.

"I can? You mean it?" Al said weakly, wiping his face.

"Yes. I'm not going to force you to stay with me, but you're welcome to."

"Thanks, Roy. I d-don't think I can go back to Resembool without him. When we came to visit after I was released from the hospital, he said "we left home together, and that is how we're gonna return." I-I can't return w-without him now." Then Al began sobbing again. Roy turned him around so that he had his face pressed against his chest. Roy pressed his lips against the top of his head as he fought a losing battle with his own tears.

"Then you won't have to."

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Ed. I don't know what else to say," Angela told him. Her eyes were full of tears.

"Yeah, thanks." Ed had just finished telling them everything that had happened.

"Don't worry, kid, we'll get your life back," Harold offered. The fifty plus Lieutenant Colonel had gone a faint shade of green.

"Are you okay?" Ed asked.

"Yes, it's just imagining how it must be for the General, I'm a father myself."

Ed froze, he hadn't told them anything about what he had said as he said goodbye, so how did they know?

Harold seemed to guess what was going through his mind. "Don't worry, kid, it's plain as day when one looks at the two of you together. At least when one is undercover and watches as the man ruffles your hair. It's alright."

Ed blushed. He still wasn't really comfortable discussing it. It made him feel weak that he had gone and found himself another father figure just like that. Made him feel like an emotional little kid.

"Ed, are you able to recognise some of the officers if we showed you some pictures?" Walter asked bluntly. He didn't seem too moved, but he didn't seem like a bad guy, just socially out of it.

"Maybe."

"Well, come with me over here a second, then." He gestured towards the wall plastered with pictures. "Do any of these guys seem familiar?"

Ed studied the pictures carefully. He paused the minute his eyes fell upon the guy from the cave. "That's the guy that told me they'd kill me."

For some reason, Walter clapped his hands together and began laughing. "HAHA! We got him now!" Then he sprang forwards and drew a big, green moustache on the picture, mumbling, "gotchagotchagotcha!"

Ed looked over at Greg who shrugged and mouthed "he does that."

"Other than that, that's the doctor that made the head, I think, I didn't get a good look at him," Ed said, pointing at another picture.

"Makes sense, he's the same that's gonna do the autopsy. It's probably happening right now," Walter said absentmindedly as he drew a couple of red flies around the photograph of the doctor.

"But you guys still haven't told me just who you are."

"Ah, sorry, Edward! We're a special group that's working on restoring Ishbal, which means that we're trying to build a case against the officers that are currently occupying it," Ezra said.

"Oh. So I guess I'm with you guys from now on then." Ed still wasn't quite sure if he could trust them, but if they were planning on killing him, then he wouldn't go down without a fight. For now he would just get as many answers as he could.

"Welcome to the team!" Greg said with a smile, slamming a cup of coffee into his hand.

* * *

It was morning when they pulled up outside the military hotel. Roy checked them in and they found their way to their room. He unlocked the door to room 217 and carried Al's suitcase for him as well as his own.

Al just stood there in the middle of the room, looking lost.

"Al, you're going to go to bed. How long have you been awake now?" Roy asked, putting his hands on his shoulders.

"Since yesterday, but I can't just sleep now!"

"Alphonse, you look dead on your feet. You need sleep. I'm not letting you go anywhere without it." There wasn't anything they could do yet anyway.

"I don't want to!" Tears began streaming down his cheeks. "I can't stop moving! I can't because – I – I just can't! Please, Roy!"

"Al, you can't just try to flee from this."

"But it _hurts!_ I can't breathe from it and if I don't keep moving then it _hurts even more_ and I can't take it!"

Roy pulled him in for a hug. He knew about how Al was still getting used to being able to physically feel emotional pain again and Roy couldn't even begin to imagine how painful this was for him. "I'm so sorry, Alphonse, but you can't outrun this."

"Why would they do this to him?! He's not even an adult yet! Y-you said they gave you his h-h-head, did they do that to get revenge on you? Is that what it is about?" Al's voice didn't put any blame on Roy, he was just frantically looking for a reason as to why his brother was taken from him.

And he couldn't even tell him. Part of him wanted Al to blame him, to give him some of the pain he deserved. Because Roy had got Ed killed. Roy had got his kid slaughtered.

Roy began gently leading Al in the direction of the bedroom. He finally got him inside and sat him down on the bed. Al was still clinging to his chest and Roy just lay down, holding on to him and soon they were both asleep.

* * *

_Roy was sitting on his couch back home, watching the flames from the fireplace. Ed walked into the room and sat down next to Roy and hugged him. "Hey, Dad."_

_Roy hugged him back. "Hi, Ed, is something wrong?"_

_"__It's just good to see that you're taking care of Al for me. You two need each other now."_

_"__What do you mean, Ed? What about you?"_

_"__Oh, come on, Dad, we both know that this isn't real."_

_Dread was beginning to sink into him. "Why would you say that?"_

_"__Because you never hugged me. You're holding onto a memory that never happened." Ed dug his face into Roy's left shoulder and squeezed him tighter. _

_"__Then why does this feel so familiar?" Roy didn't understand. He didn't want Ed to tell him that it was all fake. Because Ed was his boy._

_"__I can't tell you something that you don't know. This is all inside your head. You're desperately clinging to something that you wish had happened yet never did."_

_"__Please don't say that, Ed."_

_"__You have to face it, Dad."_

_"__No, I can't."_

_"__I'm dead. I'm dead and you know it."_

_Tears were streaming down Roy's cheeks. "No, please, Ed."_

_"__And you're the reason they killed me."_

_Roy felt something warm and wet soak through his shirt. He didn't want to look at it, but he couldn't stop himself from doing it either. _

_Roy's shirt was soaked with blood. He started, which caused Ed's precariously positioned head to fall off his shoulders and onto Roy's lap. _

_Ed's voice echoed throughout the room. "YOU KILLED ME, DAD. IT'S YOUR FAULT! I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU AND THAT WAS MY THANKS!" _

_The headless body that was still hugging him began hitting him, blood flowing from the jagged remnants of his neck, spattering his face and clothes._

_"__Please, Ed! I'm sorry!"_

"Roy! Roy! Stop it! You're having a nightmare!"

Roy woke with a start. Al was leaning over him, pinning his arms. His face was full of tears. "Al?" Roy croaked.

Alphonse relaxed slightly and released his grip on Roy's arms and furiously began wiping his tears away. "You know why they killed him. I heard you."

Roy sat up and hugged Alphonse.

"Why won't you tell me?" Al said.

"I can't."

"Why?! He's my brother! I deserve to know!"

Roy pressed his cheek against his and whispered to him, "because then they'll only kill you too."

Al just sobbed louder and Roy held him tightly, feeling the heavy weight on his chest only increase.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven**

Ed looked around the room. "So you've seriously been spying on me and the General for the last two months? You know that's just creepy, right?"

"When you say it like that, then yes." Greg scratched his head, looking awkward. "But what we've really been doing is seeing whether it would be a good idea or not to merge our two teams or if it would put you in greater danger. It seems the latter is more realistic judging by the current events."

"And by current events you mean my autopsy?" Ed sighed.

"Bang on!" Walter said cheerfully.

"Walter, you know what I've said about reading a room?" Angela whispered.

"Oh. My condolences."

"Thanks," Ed said, slightly unsure.

"You're welcome."

Everyone else sighed.

* * *

"General, if I may have a word?" the pathologist said. Alphonse straightened up the moment the door was opened. "Is it him?!" Roy held Al by the shoulders in order to stop him from rising to his feet. "Is it Brother?!"

"I'm sorry, but the deceased has been confirmed to be Major Elric. Now, General Mustang, I would like a word in private."

Roy squeezed Al's shoulders as he stood up. "I'll be back quickly, okay?"

Al was shaking with grief, tears running down his face. Roy really couldn't leave him in this state. Hearing that there now was no doubt that it was in fact Ed, was an even bigger blow than he would have thought it would be at first. He would like some time to collect himself too. Al was just clinging to his waist, sobbing. Roy put a hand on his head and tried desperately to fight his own tears as well.

Hawkeye gently put her hands on Al's shoulders and eased him over to lean on her instead so that Roy could speak to the pathologist. The whole team were there, looking stricken, but definitely ready to take care of the youngest Elric.

"If you would follow me to my office, General?" The pathologist asked him and Roy nodded, his chest feeling tight at leaving Al behind like that.

They sat down in a clean, white office with white furniture, white folders and white shelves, making the room seem oddly cold and sterile. "I thought it would be a better idea not to discuss this in front of Mister Elric and your colleagues. As I am aware, you have been wondering if the Major had his eyes and teeth removed prior to his death?"

"Yes." Roy felt his mouth go dry at the thought.

"I see, well, it's not easy for me to tell you this, but he clearly did."

Roy felt sick. They had tortured his kid.

They had gouged out the eyes of a sixteen-year-old boy. _His _boy. _While he was still alive._

Roy didn't care, he would find a way to burn these bastards.

He just needed to do so without endangering his team and Alphonse.

And Ed had suffered because of Roy. He should have protected him. Done something. Anything.

Because then he wouldn't be standing here hearing about how the last thing his boy had known was pain, fear and blindness as some bastard pulled out his teeth.

"General, judging by what these people were willing to do to a mere child, I would advice you to be careful. I'd rather not have to examine any more bodies like that."

"Yes, of course."

Roy shook hands with the man, walked out of the office and found his way to the toilet. There he emptied his meagre stomach contents.

Tears from his anguish mixed with those caused by the retching and streamed down his cheeks. He suddenly saw Ed, tied to a table, screaming as somebody pulled out his teeth, his eyes already those empty, bloody sockets.

Roy retched again. He hadn't allowed himself to even imagine it before now.

_WHY THE HELL DID IT HAVE TO BE HIM!_

Roy stood there, leaning over the toilet, clinging to it. He didn't want to tell the rest. He would never tell Alphonse. Al didn't deserve to be burdened by the knowledge.

Hawkeye would probably ask him. He would tell her, because she had also seen the head. The rest of the team didn't know. Nor would they ever do so. It wouldn't help them one bit.

God, how Roy just wanted to hold him. To hold his boy as he was still alive, still breathing in his arms. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be a family now. Roy and Ed and Al. It was supposed to be an easy mission, little more than a trip, really. It would have been hell seeing Ishbal again, but Roy would get through that with Ed by his side.

And this is what Roy got for it.

It just wasn't fair. He had only got back his sight so that he could restore Ishbal. If he couldn't do that, then he didn't deserve it. He had failed Ed and he had failed Al. He had failed the Ishbalan survivors.

And god, did it hurt.

* * *

Doctor Jonathan Wells put some disinfectant on his hands from the dispenser on his desk. It hadn't been fun delivering those news to General Mustang earlier today, of course it hadn't. The man was obviously horrified by the news, but Johnathan figured that it was safer to tell him what he had been ordered to do, rather than what had actually happened.

He had been surprised when he had once again been called into that wretched room inside that cave. He hated what he was being forced to do. Major General Freeman had told him to give the kid the "full treatment" and then just left him and Fredricks to finish the job. The higher-ups couldn't just disappear for too long after all. No, they couldn't draw any suspicion to themselves, which meant that the muscled brutes were brought out for the attacks and transporting the victims, then they left. It was usually just Johnathan and Fredricks that were left to deal with the mess. A few days ago had been special. Freeman had never once before actually talked to the victims himself. Apparently the sadistic bastard wanted the kid to know just how personal this was to the man. Johnathan had talked to Major Elric for at least fifteen minutes and spilled all of his plans to him. Told him every dirty little secret he had. What was worse was that he had then told the kid just what would happen to him. How the "full treatment" works. Then he had gone off with his chaperones, laughing madly, leaving Johnathan to do the dirty work and Fredricks to deal with the clean up afterwards.

Major Elric was just sixteen, and as he lay there, bound, the feeling in his limbs returning, he had stared up at Johnathan with a mixture of anger and fright.

_"__Don't you touch me, you sick bastard! I'll find a way to get every single one of you self-righteous scumbags arrested," the boy sneered up at him. "You just told me every little secret you have, so believe you me, I will get out of here. And you know why? __**Because I have a little brother waiting for me, so I'll be damned if I let you torture me to death! **__I'm Edward Elric and I'm not leaving my brother behind!"_

_Johnathan saw the conviction in those eyes. The boy was already working on freeing his wrists._

_Johnathan's own son was the same age. _

_He was trapped. He couldn't do this. Edward Elric was nothing more than a child. He wasn't going to tie him up and begin removing his eyes and teeth and then begin carefully removing the organs one by one as the kid screamed his lungs out until his body shut down._

_Johnathan may have done that during the war, but that was before he became a father. And he had never done that willingly back then either._

_It wasn't his fault that he was a good surgeon and pathologist. He may enjoy dissecting people to some extent, but vivisection? He had never agreed to that! They were supposed to be dead first!_

_**But then they're going to slit your family's throats**._

_But dammit! My hands are already stained, I can't add a child to that list!_

_"__You don't wanna do this, do you?" the boy asked curiously. "You're not like them. You actually have a heart. So what do they have on you? You look like they're threatening you with your family, I know how that goes." The boy chuckled darkly. "Which I guess means that you have to do this after all."_

_"__My son is your age. My daughter is two years older. I swear, Major Elric, I don't want to do this. I'm sorry."_

_Johnathan had moved towards the kid, but suddenly Fredricks stopped him, taking his wrist. "Fake it," he whispered-_

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__Fake his death. You're good enough of a biological alchemist to make a fake head out of his hair and some extra limbs from the last victim. Do it, I'll make sure to get the kid out of here. Just do it and never say it to anybody."_

_"__Why would you help me?" _

_Fredricks glared at him with a frightened determination in his eyes. "Because you don't kill kids. Just give him one of the syringes that deletes memories so that he can't go blabbing."_

_"__WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO WHISPERING ABOUT?! IF YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME, AT LEAST SHOW SOME MANNERS!" the kid shouted, a vein throbbing at his temple._

_Fredricks nodded at Johnathan and he grabbed two of the syringes on his work desk. He bent down and stuck the needles into his neck one by one, making the kid swear at an alarming rate, although he blacked out soon though._

_Then Johnathan set to work._

He sat at his desk, thinking about what he had done. He had doomed Major Elric's family and friends to believe he was dead. But at least he hadn't killed him.

The office door was opened. One of the receptionists walked in, looking at him anxiously. "Oh, hi, Annie, is something wrong?" She closed the door behind her.

"Hi, Doctor Wells. I just wondered if we could have a cup of coffee? I need to talk. My boyfriend is – well, we're not good right now."

Jonathan smiled encouragingly at her as he spotted the two cups in her hands. Johnathan always took good care of his staff and was there to talk whenever they needed to. "Of course, have a seat."

Annie smiled at him and gave him a cup. "Thank you, Doctor Wells. It's not easy, he's always screaming and yelling. I'm afraid he's going to leave me."

Johnathan took a large sip of his cup, which made Annie smile.

Johnathan didn't feel good as he opened his mouth to share of his wisdom. He was suddenly having difficulty breathing. His chest was aching. "What?" he said weakly.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Wells, but you're one of our weaker links."

Everything turned dark as he fell out of his chair.


	8. Chapter 8

**I would just like to thank all of you wonderful people for reviewing, favouriting and following this story! It's so encouraging to read your reviews!**

* * *

**Chapter eight**

Al felt like he was wading through darkness. Everything around him was both too loud or not loud enough. He was drowning and the surroundings were drowning him. It was too bright, yet not bright enough. He was dizzy, yet he walked straight.

Roy had his arm around him as they walked back to the hotel. Al really just wanted to sink to his knees and pass out from the pain that was filling his chest. Then he could just be carried back. Roy was strong enough after all. Because it _hurt so much_. Everything _hurt_. How could it not with what had happened today? They had just discussed funeral arrangements after talking to the pathologist.

About Ed.

He was getting a funeral, and Führer Grumman was even planning on bumping him up to Colonel. His big brother was getting buried. He was getting buried because he was d – Al couldn't even get himself to think about it.

Al felt weak. He was weak and thirsty, but he didn't want to stop. He couldn't stop. Why did it have to hurt so much?

_Because it's Brother_.

Al fell forwards, his legs didn't want to carry him anymore at the thought. Roy caught him and lifted him up. Al didn't even care that people were staring. He just sobbed into Roy's chest, clinging to his shirt.

"How can he just be _gone_ like that? He's Brother! He's always been there! Even when he was missing, he was there! How can he not be here anymore?!"

Al felt Roy's lips press against the top of his head, and he just buried himself further into the embrace, hoping that it would remove some of the pain that he felt. Wet drops landed in his hair and Al knew that Roy was crying again. Soon he was being carried behind a dumpster in a nearby alley, where Roy slid down against the wall and just sat there hugging him as he sat on his lap. Al hugged him back.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this! It was supposed to be alright now! Now that I have my body back ... Roy! Teacher doesn't even know yet! I have to phone her! I have to tell her that Brother's d-d –" Al dug his face into the now soaked through shirt. It didn't help that it was raining either. He was getting cold but it didn't matter because nothing mattered now that Ed was _gone_.

"I want him back! I need him, Roy! What am I supposed to do without him?" Al felt like he was being twisted apart by the pain.

"I want him back too, Al. But we can't. I'm so sorry, Alphonse, but he really is gone."

"We were supposed to be happy, the three of us! He was so happy about his life now! I was! Things were so great! Better than great! They were perfect! We had each other and our real bodies and a Dad …" Al suddenly stopped talking. Roy had frozen as he stroked his back. Al hadn't meant to call him that, not yet.

"You see me as your father?" Roy sounded shocked, although it was clear in his voice that he was still crying silently.

"Yes, in a way," Al said silently, thoroughly afraid that he had just ruined everything between them.

In answer, the strong arms just hugged him tighter and Al let himself sob over Ed and the fact that he should have been here now.

* * *

"Curtis Butcher Shop, this is Sig," a deep voice said.

Al felt his stomach twist painfully. "H-hello, Sig. It's Al. Could I talk to Teacher?"

"Is everything all right, Alphonse?" Sig sounded worried.

"N-no. That's why I need to talk to her."

"I'll get her for you. Take care, Al."

"Y-you too."

Al waited for about thirty seconds that were filled with the concerned receptionist handing him a few Kleenex. Roy had already explained what the phone call was about and Dennis, according to the name tag, had immediately assumed a sombre look and given his condolences, as well as assure him that he could use the phone as long as he needed to.

"Alphonse? What's wrong?" Teacher's voice came from the phone.

"H-hello, Teacher. I-it's about Ed." Al barely managed to make any sound as he said the name. He hadn't told anyone else about his death yet.

"What about him? Is he hurt?" Teacher sounded worried, and because she was worried, also a bit angry.

"H-he's d-d-d –" Al wasn't able to finish. It hurt too much. He broke into sobs. He couldn't say it. He couldn't even think it.

Roy seemed to guess that it was too much for Al and just drew him in for a hug while gently taking the phone from him. Al just threw his arms around him and let the grief consume him.

"Hello, Mrs. Curtis, this is Roy Mustang. – I'm sorry, but he is. – We were calling you to tell you that the funeral is five days from now. It's being held at the Central East Cemetery at twelve o'clock. - He's staying with me at the military hotel. – Yes, I'm looking after him at the moment. – As long as he wants me to. – Yes, Mrs. Curtis. – We'll see you in a few days. – Goodbye."

Al heard Roy hang up the phone and then the hold around his back tightened.

"I can't even say it, Roy. It hurts too much."

"Come on, Al, let's get back to the room."

Al didn't even know how he got upstairs, but he did, and soon he was crying his heart out on Roy's lap. Al just sunk into the embrace. He would take whatever source of comfort he could get right now, and Roy was better than most. Al knew that he really was too big to sit it anyone's lap, but as his head rested against Roy's warm cheek, he didn't care. He had never felt so small in his life as he did now. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this! I can't take it! How can he just be _gone?_!"

"Al, I know it's hard. I know it so well, but it is how it is." Roy's voice was heavy with barely repressed tears.

"But he's Brother! He was always going to be here! I can't just lose him like that! I need him, Roy!"

"I know, I know."

Al had never been in so much pain in his life. It felt like every bone in his body had been broken and his chest was being crushed by an anvil.

He felt Roy's lips against his forehead and he began sobbing even more.

* * *

Ed woke to the smell of sizzling bacon. He had been having nightmares about Al crying so much that he got himself into accidents. He really just wanted to find him and Mustang and give them a big hug.

A plate pf eggs, bacon and toast was placed on the top of his duvet and Ed sat up, holding the plate while pulling the duvet up to cover his chest. Ed was thoroughly annoyed that his tank top was still drying after having the most thorough wash it had ever been subjected to. He really wasn't used to sleeping in only his boxers, it kind of made him feel like he was going to have his automail attached, which explained the constant nightmares he'd been suffering through tonight.

Ed still ate with gusto however. Despite being someone who pretended to be a real slob, Greg was actually an excellent cook. The man was looking slightly stricken at the scars from the automail surgery. That was another drawback with being bare-chested these days. At least the automail hid most of the scarring, but now that he had his arm back, if really looked quite grotesque in a way. It was also hard to explain.

"That's from the automail, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"How did you get your arm back?"

"Alchemy."

"How did you lose your alchemy?"

"Alchemy."

"Uh-huh? Well, how are the eggs?"

"Great."

"Good. By the way, kid, you're in almost every paper in the country."

"I am?"

"Yeah, you were confirmed dead yesterday after all."

"You have one of the papers here?"

"You really sure you wanna look? It's not exactly a fun read."

"Don't care. I wanna see what they say about me."

"Your choice, Ed, but don't say I didn't warn you." Greg threw him a newspaper.

Ed picked it up as he put his plate on the table. He was on the first page of _Eastern_ _Times_. They had used a picture of Ed from when he'd been trying to draw out Scar back in Central last year. It was the one where he was smiling broadly, standing on top of a light post with Al waving fans in the background. That had been a lot of fun and of course a big joke. Apparently it had made an impression however. The headline was written in large, thick letters.

"**THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE IS DEAD.**"

Ed opened the article that was on pages five through seven.

**_"_****_Such a great kid,"_**

_A sad receptionist said at Eastern Headquarters. "I've seen that boy grow up since he started working here. A few times a month, that little kid would throw the front doors open and march upstairs to Brigadier General (then Colonel) Mustang's office. He would always give me a little wave and smile, no matter how bad his temper was sometimes. Not many soldiers would march in, blood dripping from their head, soaked to the skin with rain and still look up with a smile as they greeted me. It really showed that Edward had a heart of gold."_

_Promoted to Colonel for dying in the line of duty, Edward Elric, age sixteen, was confirmed dead yesterday. The military is left in mourning that their youngest ever officer was killed sometime this Monday. The cause of death has still not been released._

_Colonel Elric has revolutionised the military ever since he joined up at age twelve four years ago, and has become one of the most celebrated State Alchemists as a result. He quickly proved himself to be both a highly skilled alchemist as well as a martial artist, resulting in him being featured in many famous cases. _

_Joined by his brother, Alphonse (15), Colonel Elric has over the last four years also helped numerous people all over the country, earning him the nickname "The Hero of the People". Not afraid to expose corruption, theft and other criminal activities, whether it be with high-ranking officials or small-town farmers, Colonel Elric proved himself to have a strong sense of justice as well as a no-killing policy that earned him both respect and scorn._

_"__He saved our town," a local innkeeper from Youswell said. "He exposed what that dirty thief was up to and gave the deed back to the town. We're prospering now instead of living in poverty because of him."_

_Many other such accounts can be found nationwide, showing how Colonel Elric proved himself not to be the dog of the military that State Alchemists are often believed to be._

Ed put down the paper. "It goes on like this all the way?"

"Pretty much. The staff ends up offering their condolences to your brother and your friends. You should be prepared, though, they wrote up the time and place of the funeral too, so there will probably be a lot of people there."

Ed found the paragraph in question and looked up at Greg. "Why don't I get buried in Resembool?"

Greg laughed. "Ed, you can't expect Führer Grumman to travel all the way to Resembool. It's for security reasons. Besides, people would be outraged if they were unable to pay their respect. You're just lucky they didn't bury you in Central. I guess the General would have had to pull some strings to make that happen."

"Oh. So you think there will be a lot of people there?"

"Of course there will! You're probably the most popular officer they've got! You might even pass the Führer if someone were to set up a popularity poll."

"Oh." Ed searched for something to say. "So I'm a Colonel now? That seems a little extreme."

Ed didn't really know what to think after reading the first third of the article. But he felt like going to his funeral. He knew it would be hard, but he would like to see the people he was actually staying dead for. It would help to keep him going. And he missed them. He missed Al, he missed the General, his team, Winry, Granny, Teacher, Sig, hell, he even missed Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong's bone-breaking hugs.

And in a way, by seeing his funeral, he could say goodbye to those people.

Ed pulled his knees up to his chest under the duvet and put his chin on them with a sad sigh.

"Hey, Ed, are you okay?" Greg asked.

"What do you think?" Ed said, fighting furiously against the tear building in his left eye.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine**

Ed watched from a slight distance as the people walked up to his gravesite. Greg really didn't want him to go, which had resulted in Ed knocking him unconscious and walking over to the cemetery on his own. There really wasn't a good reason that Ed shouldn't be allowed to go, just that Greg didn't think it was a good idea to let him be out in public. Ed couldn't understand why, his wig left him with an unrecognisable hairstyle and his eyes were now blue-grey thanks to the coloured contacts. There hadn't been any meetings yet that Ed had to attend and Ed was getting sick and tired of being stuck in that little apartment.

So here he was, leaning against a tree, watching as people he vaguely recognised from missions gathered as well as his colleagues and friends.

Then Al and Mustang walked up to the front of the group. Al was wearing a black suit and Mustang was wearing his black uniform, his fringe slicked back under his uniform hat. Ed felt a kind of happy sadness at seeing that Mustang had his arm around Al and was supporting him. At least he was taking care of his little brother. That was good. They'd keep each other straight.

Mustang looked directly at Ed, but he clearly didn't recognise him. Ed just looked like any other of those people who had wanted to pay their respects, but didn't really feel like they belonged and so they kept some distance from the proceedings.

It still hurt, however, not to be recognised by the man that had come to mean so much to him these last few months. Al was just shaking, overcome by grief and fell to his knees in front of the coffin. Mustang held a hand on Al's shoulder and wiped a tear away from his own cheek.

Then came Winry and Granny. Winry was looking kind of pretty in a black dress that went to her knees. She was sobbing loudly just like Al and she ran forwards and hugged him tightly, making themselves sob even louder.

"Sorry, Winry, I guess I made you cry again," Ed said quietly so that nobody could hear him.

It felt so surreal to be watching this. He was actually watching his own funeral and all these people were here because of him, only to not recognise him anymore. Ed had never thought that things would be this bad. That there would be so many people here.

He felt a tear roll down his right cheek, but that was only to be expected. He was causing all these people so much pain right now. And Al was in so much pain, Ed couldn't even look at him. And Mustang was paler than Ed had ever seen him. The man was fighting so hard not to cry, and even then, tears were rolling down his cheeks.

And people kept coming. Ed recognised most of the inhabitants of Youswell gathering at a far corner, scowling at Yoki who was standing next to Heinkel and Darius. Next to them were Jerso and Zampano, who were soon joined by Scar and Miles.

Then a great troop of Briggs soldiers came marching, led by General Armstrong and Falman. They stood next to Miles, although Falman moved to stand closer to Mustang. He too was crying and saluted the minute he stopped to watch the coffin. Ed was surprised, now there were at least a hundred people here, but they didn't seem to stop coming. Teacher came next, leaning heavily on Sig. Ed was afraid that she was sick again, but then he saw that she was crying, as was Sig. Mason was with them too. They joined Al, Mustang and the Rockbells.

Ed heard loud crying and turned around to see Gracia walking up the stone path with Elicia sobbing loudly. "BIG BROTHER! NO! NOT LIKE DADDY! PLEASE DON'T BURY HIM!"

Ed felt his stomach twist. He hadn't thought that they'd be here. This must be too much like Hughes's funeral.

Mrs. Bradley showed up next, carrying a small child in a bundle of blankets. Ed guessed that had to be Selim. Then came Hawkeye, Fuery, Havoc and Breda. They walked over to Mustang. Ed had never seen them be so subdued. Sheska joined the Briggs soldiers together with Ross and Brosh, while Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong seemed too grief-stricken to even scoop Al into his arms and just stood behind the team, tears gushing down his cheeks.

Ed then watched as Madame Christmas came walking up the path and put a hand on Mustang's shoulder and squeezed it before she went to stand further back. Ed had met her a couple of times while he had been staying with Mustang. The old woman seemed unmoved, but Ed knew that she wouldn't have come if she didn't want to. Ed spotted a few Ishbalans at the back of the crowd too.

A few cries alerted Ed to the fact that Ridel and Satera LeCourt had showed up with their baby boy, and were actually accompanied by Dominic as well as Paninya and Mister Garfiel.

A lot of people from Resembool turned up too to pay their respects.

Then, accompanied by a lot of bodyguards, came Führer Grumman himself. He was looking sombre.

Ed was shocked that all these people had come just to say goodbye to him. Then his eyes fell on Alphonse who was still sobbing loudly. Mustang had taken off his hat and was holding it against his chest, his hand trembling slightly, as was the one resting on Al's shoulder.

Ed felt a lot of tears running down his cheeks which mixed with the rain that had begun pouring down. A see of black umbrellas covered the cemetery. Al and Mustang didn't take one out. Granny opened one to cover herself, Winry and Al, while Mustang just let the rain fall over himself. Ed would have thought that Hawkeye would have offered to cover him with her umbrella, but then Ed understood. Mustang didn't want her to, because this way, no one could see him crying.

Ed felt his whole chest ache horribly. He really wanted to just hug these people, to say that it was all right, that he wasn't dead.

But he couldn't. Because then all these people would be at risk. Ed would have to make this sacrifice in order to keep them safe.

But it still hurt.

* * *

Roy kept standing in the cemetery until it became dark. The coffin had been lowered into the ground, and the tombstone in front of him made his heart feel like it had been ripped out of his chest and was slowly being squeezed until it was completely flattened.

There was a mound of flowers in front of him. Mostly there were white roses, but there was a small bouquet of red ones from Roy and Al because of Al's insistence that Ed would be pissed off if he only got white for his funeral.

Pinako and Winry had left, as had Hawkeye and the rest of them, although she had given him her umbrella.

Al was clutching his knees, looking ahead of him at the tombstone, reading it over and over again, tears in his eyes.

None of them wanted to leave.

They had only buried the head. The rest of Ed's body was still missing. Roy doubted that they would ever find it.

It just wasn't fair.

Al seemed to have shut himself down, and Roy knew that he would have to be the responsible adult here. He looked down at Al. "We should go, it's getting dark."

"Mhm."

Al didn't move.

Roy tried to lift him up by his shoulder, but Al just sat there limply. The boy was completely emotionally exhausted. And he was soaked to the skin. Roy really should have taken him back to the hotel much earlier. He sighed and closed the umbrella before he carefully lifted Al up into his arms. The boy didn't say anything. He was shivering though. Roy carried him back to the car and drove back to the hotel. The receptionist nodded knowingly at them and let them pass without a word. He got Al back into their room and carried him into the bathroom, where he placed him on the bathroom floor. "Al, you should take a bath, you need to get some warmth back into your body. I'll place some clean clothes for you outside the bathroom."

"Mhm."

Roy stroked his cheek once and closed the bathroom door.

He went back to the bedroom part of their room and looked through their suitcases. He found clean clothes for himself and Al. Then he drew the curtains and changed out of his soaked suit. He placed it in front of the radiator and then pulled on his grey and green checkered pyjamas bottoms and a white T-shirt. He moved to place the clothes outside the bathroom door when he realised that Al hadn't made a sound since Roy left him five minutes ago. Roy knocked, but when Al didn't answer, he opened the door slowly, only to find Al still sitting on the floor exactly as Roy had left him.

"Alphonse?"

"Mhm."

Roy didn't really know what to say or do. He wasn't practiced in dealing with teenagers and especially teenagers that had been stuck as unfeeling suits of armour and who suddenly lost their brothers. He needed Al to get himself some warmth, but Al didn't seem to want to do anything right now. He wasn't even looking up at Roy. And he clearly didn't respond to being told to do something.

Which meant that Roy would have to force him.

Roy kneeled down in front of him and placed his hands on Al's wet shoulders. "Alphonse, you need to get warm, otherwise you're going to get sick. If you won't move on your own, then I'm going to place you in that bathtub myself."

Al looked up at him slowly. "Please help me. Everything hurts so much," he whispered after a while.

Roy looked into those golden eyes. The boy was in so much pain and was so lost, Roy's insides twisted themselves apart. Roy knew that he wasn't looking at the eyes of a fifteen-year-old, but at the four-year-old boy Al had been when he had just returned from his mother's funeral. But this time the boy didn't have his brother to lean on. He only had Roy. And he was asking for help. He was drowning in his own emotions and was desperately trying one last time to save himself from it. But the loss of both his parents and now Ed, pulled him downwards so heavily that he couldn't make it on his own.

"I'll help you, Al, of course I will."

Roy untied Al's tie and unbuttoned the suit jacket. He then unbuttoned Al's shirt and gently pulled it off his arms one by one. He then removed his shoes and socks. They were full of dirt and water.

Then came the awkward part, but Al didn't seem to be able to or didn't want to move on his own, and so Roy removed the boy's trousers and boxers while making sure to keep his eyes closed to let Alphonse keep some of his dignity. He then lifted the boy inside the tub and made sure that the water was warm enough before he let it fill up around the kid. He used plenty of foam bath because Roy had a feeling that he couldn't leave Al alone right now and didn't want this to be more awkward than it already was. Roy then just sat himself on the floor next to the tub so that he was facing the emotionally broken boy and put a hand on Al's right cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb. Al looked at him again and placed his own hand on top of Roy's, still looking lost. "What do I do? What have I got to live for now?" Al said, nearly inaudible after a few minutes of silence.

"Live for the people who love you, Al," Roy said. "Live for all those people that showed up today. Both of you have made an impression on them. Not just Ed, and they would be so sad if they lost you too." Roy paused for a bit, watching as a tear ran down the boy's cheek. "And live for me."

Another tear made its way down Al's cheek and he slowly leaned forwards until his forehead rested against Roy's chest. "Thank you, Dad. I can't do this on my own."

"Neither can I, Al. Neither can I. So how about we keep each other going?" Roy put his hand at the back of Al's head. He tried to sound strong, but it was so hard right now.

"Yes," came a weak voice.

"Thank you."


	10. Chapter 10

**So this chapter is inspired by some of the reviews I've been receiving, and I would like to apologise about the cliffhanger at the end here.**

* * *

**Chapter ten**

Ed walked into the apartment after he left the funeral. No matter how tempting, he couldn't overstay his welcome, because then people would ask why he was there, and Ed wasn't too good at changing his voice.

And so he came back, sopping wet, to find a pissed off Greg lying tied up on the floor, shouting at him through his gag.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Ed said, closing the door and walking over to untie the soldier's hands. Greg immediately pulled the gag out of his mouth the second Ed was done and hit him. "I guess I deserved that one," Ed said, rubbing his cheek.

"Of course you did! What the hell, Ed?!"

"I went to see my funeral. And don't worry, nobody recognised me."

"You don't test that out on the people closest to you, though! You could have blown everything! And at your own funeral, none the less!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to see them."

Greg scratched his head and sighed. "I understand, Ed, this isn't easy for you and I know it. But you can't just go off on your own like that. If someone should recognise you, you'd be in serious trouble, okay?"

"I know! Of course I know! I just watched two hundred people show up to pay their respects! I know that it was stupid, but I needed a reminder as to what I am actually fighting for here!"

Ed went into the bathroom and slammed the door closed before he locked it. He needed a warm shower.

* * *

Roy lay in bed, Alphonse pulled close to him. He felt so useless. So useless and it made him so angry. He couldn't tell anyone about why Ed was killed, because then he'd only be putting them at risk. These people probably had eyes and ears everywhere. He didn't know, and it terrified him. He didn't know who these people were, but he had a feeling they were military. They were the only ones who could want him so strongly to stay away from Ishbal. Question was, who? And how many were there of them?

He hated not knowing. He couldn't just go snooping around and deliver messages if these people were military. He didn't know who he could trust anymore.

And Ed. They killed him. They killed his little boy. They tortured and killed him and they didn't even give his body back.

Just his head.

With his eyes and teeth removed while he was still alive.

And they hadn't just touched one of his boys but had nearly destroyed Al as well through this.

Those bastards had nearly taken both his boys from him.

And Roy itched to burn them for it. Make them suffer. Make them feel some of the pain that he had felt from losing his boy. He wanted to melt their eyeballs and burn their gums so badly their teeth fell out. It was the least they deserved.

Roy got out of bed, he needed to use the toilet. Al was sleeping.

When he was done washing his hands, he clasped them around the edge of the sink and felt like shouting. He felt like snapping. He wanted to make them pay. Make them scream in pain as their skin bubbled off.

He felt the anger boiling. Surging. It was just like with Envy.

_"__GIVE HIM TO ME! OR I'LL BURN UP YOUR HAND ALONG WITH HIM!" Roy got ready to snap, glaring at the child who thought he had any right to mess with this._

_"__TRY IT THEN! IF IT'S A FIGHT YOU WANT, FINE! BUT FIRST, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT YOUR FACE! IS THAT THE FACE YOU PLAN TO WEAR WHEN YOU'RE LEADING THIS COUNTRY?! WELL, IS IT?! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANNA BE, COLONEL? __**ANOTHER MONSTER?!**__"_

Roy looked up at himself in the mirror. His eyes shone of hate and anger.

He felt his hands shaking as he repeated his daily mantra, looking straight at his reflection. "Ed wouldn't want you to. Remember Ed. You're not a monster, Roy, don't become one."

He felt himself calming down. "Remember what he would want."

He took a few steadying breaths, feeling his grip on the edges of the sink slacken. "Be there for Al. For Ed. Take care of your boys."

He looked at his expression. His face was softer. Warmer. "Because that's the face you'll be wearing when you're leading this country. The one Ed would want."

Roy then slid down against the wall and let himself cry. Cry like he couldn't do in front of Al because he needed him to be strong. To be someone to lean on.

Because Roy wasn't doing good. With each day, his mantra became harder and harder to repeat to himself. But he managed to get the words out. And they helped. But he couldn't talk to Hawkeye about this. What if someone misinterpreted it as Roy telling more than he should?

He hadn't felt this trapped ever.

Whether Ed's voice in his head was just imagination or not, the words still rang true. Right now, he needed Al just as badly as the boy needed him.

And so he cried silently into his hands, trying not to wake Alphonse.

* * *

Al woke up to find himself alone in the bed. He felt anxious as he saw that he was in fact alone in the room. "Dad?"

There was no answer.

_Maybe he's just in the bathroom._

And so Al waited for about ten minutes without anything happening. He got out of bed. Getting warmed up and sleep for a while had helped him get out of his meltdown. Having someone promise to take care of him had helped. But Dad was still in danger and so Al didn't like it when he just disappeared like that. He couldn't lose anyone else right now.

He walked over to the bathroom, discovering that the light was on. He tried the door, finding it to be unlocked, and walked carefully inside, only to find Dad sitting on the bathroom floor, his back against the wall, crying into his hands.

"Dad?"

"I'm sorry, Al. I should have protected him. I should have done something! They got him because of me!"

Al had never seen anything like it. Roy Mustang was _sobbing._ "They took my boy." The last word was barely audible. "I buried my boy today. He's really gone."

Al didn't know what to say, so he just gently sat down next to him and hugged him. This time it was Dad who was crying and Al that was holding him. Al was crying too. He just sat there, holding him tightly.

And so they sat there like that for a long time.

* * *

_"__Hey, Ed! I know something that you don't!" Ed heard his own voice say as he lay on the cave floor. Ed looked up to see Fredricks holding his fake head. "Or maybe you've just forgotten about it!" His voice echoed from the head tauntingly._

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__Oh, come on, Ed, you know. Somewhere inside that head of yours you remember what they are going to do!"_

_"__No! I don't! Tell me!"_

_"__Oh, but you know! You just can't remember it!" The head said it in a sing-song voice. Then it laughed, blood spitting from its mouth._

_"__Tell me!" Ed was getting desperate. It was important, Ed knew that. Really important. His skull was itching, he just couldn't scratch it because his hands were bound. "Come on! TELL ME!"_

_"__Nuh-huh. __**You**__ need to remember it."_

_"__Then help me! How do I remember it? What do I need to do?"_

_"__That's more like it. First, __**why**__ do you know that there's something you've forgot?" Only now did Ed notice that Fredricks wasn't looking at him, but at something to his right. Ed turned his head. The doctor sat in a corner, tilting back and forth, crying. _

_"__Don't wanna! Don't wanna!" the doctor said, gripping his hair, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Don't make me!"_

_"__But he was a creep!" Ed shouted at the head. _

_"__You sure?"_

_"__Of course he was! He just walked right up to me and stuck a pair of needles in my neck!"_

_"__You see, Ed? There it is__! __Because what did you tell Greg?"_

_"… __I only remembered one syringe back then … Why do I remember two different things?"_

_"__Because one of them is false, Ed. They messed with your memories. So think! What do you remember?!"_

_"__Let me tell you something, you nosy, little brat …" echoed throughout the cave. It was that bearded general speaking._

_"__That's good, Ed, now what else?" the head urged him._

_"… __We really don't like you and that Mustang guy..."_

_Ed thought and thought, his brain was hurting from thinking so hard. He felt a wave of dread, but couldn't understand why. He was angry at that guy. He kept telling him how he was going to kill him after all._

_"__Hey, look at that!" the head said encouragingly._

_"__But that's not why I'm scared though! I've met plenty of bastards like that!"_

_"__Of course it's not, Ed! Remember, I know you!"_

_"__But the only reason he'd scare me is if he was going to hurt the others!"_

_"__Of course it is! But __**how **__would he hurt them? __**Who**__?"_

_General Creep's laughter echoed through the cave. "… Of course we'll kill you, but we won't stop there! We'll frame Mustang for it!"_

Ed woke with a start.


	11. Chapter 11

**A short chapter, I know, but I loved ending it there and besides, it's 02.00 AM here in Norway.**

* * *

**Chapter eleven**

"HEY, GREG! GET YOUR LAZY ASS OFF YOUR BED RIGHT NOW!" Ed was hammering on the bedroom door. If these bastards had already been planning on framing the General for over a week already, then they were probably living on borrowed time.

Greg finally opened the door and looked curiously at Ed. "What's up?"

"They're gonna frame the General! It's gonna be really simple to fabricate evidence! They could take whatever they needed of blood and hairs or even nails, not to speak of fingerprints while he was unconscious!"

Greg seemed alert immediately. "That's not good. With those bastards controlling things, then they could have him imprisoned tomorrow if they want."

"Don't you think I know that?! Get a meeting together, it's only three in the morning!"

* * *

"You're serious? You broke in and read the case files against him? How?" Ed asked Walter.

"It's pretty easy, really. I keep a few pre-signed permission slips from the Führer in my drawer. We work directly under him, didn't you know that? Well, I guess you wouldn't, because we forgot to tell you, but never mind that. Anyway, I just used the maintenance uniform, a wig and a couple of coloured contacts and made sure that the guards knew exactly who Thorvald Xavier Daim is."

"Who?"

"Well, that's the name I came up with. The guards will remember such a weird name, I made sure they wrote it down correctly. So now they're going to be looking for a fake guy with a fake name when they find out today that somebody alerted the General to his arrest."

"So we're gonna warn him today? How?"

"Well, we're kind of going to give him the same lifestyle as you, so we'll be taking your brother too," Greg said.

""Taking?""

"Well, we can't risk them listening in on us exposing our plans."

"You're not drugging my brother!"

"Sorry, kid, but we are. Besides, you should be happy, they'll be staying with us. Ezra is already carrying a couple of camp beds over here."

Ed felt his heart make a leap of joy inside his chest. "You're serious?"

"Yup. Like I said, I read the file and they've got the wrong people with the right evidence. They've got people testifying to having seen the two of you quarrel loudly on several occasions, and there's the fact that Freeman himself is telling stories about you confiding in him that General Mustang has been hitting you these last few months," Walter said calmly.

"WHAT?! HOW WOULD ANYONE BELIEVE THAT CRAP?!"

"The problem is, Ed, that even though many would believe it to be crap, Freeman outranks General Mustang, which means that his testimony weighs more. And without your body, there really isn't a way to disprove the claims of physical abuse. They have more than enough to arrest the General. Apparently the knife identified to have been used to cut your head off has been discovered to have his fingerprints on it."

"Those bastards! But Führer Grumman won't allow him to be killed!"

"No, but that's not necessarily what they want. With such juicy news, Ed, the press is going to dig up every piece of dirt they can find on the General, including Ishbal. With what the General has done, people will turn against him and nobody will take him seriously or allow him back in Ishbal. They'll be afraid that he's going to repeat his actions. Many will probably see him as a deranged killer, especially with the military itself fuelling the rumours," Greg said.

"So we're bringing them here? When? What can I do?"

"You're going to stay here. The rest of us are going to fetch the General and your brother as soon as the rest returns and we're sure that the coast is clear."

"You can't just expect me to wait!"

"No, I'm forcing you to."

"What?"

Greg and Walter suddenly jumped at him and had soon handcuffed him to the radiator. "HEY! KICKS TO THE GROIN ISN'T PLAYING FAIR!" Ed shouted, his private areas screaming as loud as he did himself.

"Edward, I'm sorry, but this is how it's going to be. We can't have you wandering off on your own right now."

"If you guys end up hurting them, I'll kick you with my left foot," Ed said threateningly.

"Trust me, Ed, we'll get them here unharmed."

Ed just grunted, still annoyed about the current seating arrangements.

Being unable to help as the others prepared for departure with wigs, contacts and even beards, left Ed feeling anxious. What if something went wrong? What if they got discovered? Something could go very badly and Ed could end up never seeing Al and Mustang ever again.

"We'll be back in about two hours, Ed," Greg said as they left.

Ed was a whirlwind of emotions. He had so much going through his mind. He would get to be alive again, sort of, but Mustang and and Al would become fugitives as a cost. But he would het to talk to them, hug them. Be a family. It was the first piece of good news Ed had got for the hardest week of his life.

And he couldn't wait.

And so the next two hours were the longest he'd ever experienced. They were filled with what ifs and nervousness that things hadn't gone according to plan.

Then finally, finally, the door opened and Ezra and Greg were carrying Mustang between them, followed by Walter, Harold and Angela carrying Al. They moved to put them on the camp beds. "Al's getting the couch," Ed said, glaring at them.

They didn't dare disobey him. Ed watched as they lay down the two unconscious bodies.

"NOW GREG, YOU'RE GETTING ME THE HELL OUT OF THESE HANDCUFFS!"

* * *

Ed watched as Mustang opened his eyes slowly, obviously dazed. The others had left to go to work in order not to raise suspicion, trusting Ed to tell Mustang and Al about what's been going on.

The General suddenly sat bolt upright, staring at Ed, before he jumped forwards and pinned Ed to the ground, choking him. "What did you do to Alphonse?!"

"He's fine." Ed croaked, using his eyes to indicate that he should look over at the couch. "Please let me breathe, General. I'll explain everything," Ed hated that the hold on his throat was so tight that he didn't really sound like himself. Besides, the man was sitting heavily on Ed's chest, restricting even more of his intake of air. Ed was freaked out by the hateful look that Mustang was giving him. He wanted to hurt Ed.

"What's going on?! You were at Ed's funeral!" The man pressed his knee further down on Ed's chest, making breathing even more difficult. Mustang probably thought that Ed was with the people that "killed" him.

Ed was getting a bit panicky, Mustang was furious and Ed realised just how much hate that had built up in him for the last week. He said the only thing he could think of as his lungs screamed for air. "Please, Dad!"

Mustang froze.

Then.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Ed felt a fist collide with his jaw.

"Please, it's Ed!" Ed wheezed. "I'm not dead!" Ed stared at him, trying to make him see past the disguise.

The hold on his neck loosened slightly and Ed breathed in some much needed Oxygen. "HOW THE HELL CAN YOU BE HIM?! I SAW HIS HEAD!"

"They shaved my hair off!" Ed said exasperatedly. His mind wasn't working properly, too many emotions were flying through his mind at the same time. "I've got coloured contacts."

Mustang removed the hand on his throat and pulled the wig off. Instead of moving off his chest, Mustang looked at him with a kind of manic urgency and ripped open the top of his shirt to reveal the scars from his automail.

He leapt off of Ed and pulled him into a sitting position as Ed coughed. "Take the contacts off."

Ed did as he was told and Mustang just stared at him. Refusing to let his hopes rise only to have them crushed again, the man continued his interrogation. "Tell me something only my Ed would know."

"The first time we met, you pulled me up from the wheelchair by the front of my sweater and yelled at me," Ed said, reminded of the situation.

The next second he was being pulled into a big, desperate hug that he was more than happy to return.


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so happy that the last chapter was so well-received! And as for yesterday's four chapters in one day, that's actually a personal record for me. Since I've kind of moved into the territory of cliffhangers or at least not entirely satisfying ends of chapters, I would just like to say that I'm not withholding any chapters, I post them almost the minute that they're done, so I do not plan on torturing you people with how I end my chapters and make you wait, I just need to write them first!**

* * *

**Chapter twelve**

Ed felt tears land on his head as he let his own tears soak through Mustang's T-shirt. "I'm so sorry I let you think I was dead, I had to keep you safe," Ed said urgently, still afraid that Mustang would be angry with him.

"It's okay, Ed, it's okay. You're here now. You're _alive_." Mustang placed a kiss on his forehead and Ed just squeezed him tighter, so happy to actually be hugged by him. To not be dead. To finally not break the hearts of everyone he cares about.

* * *

Roy didn't know what to say. Ed was alive and safe. His boy was alive. He was breathing and healthy and _here_. In Roy's arms. He couldn't remember ever crying happy tears, but god, was he now. Roy had questions, of course, but those could wait. He only needed one answer right now. "Ed, are you okay?"

"Now I am."

Roy hugged him even tighter. Oh, how he had missed that voice.

Roy heard shifting from the couch behind him, and he smiled even wider.

"Dad? What's going on? Who's that?" Al said groggily.

Roy let Ed gently disentangle himself from the hug. Ed peeked over Roy's left shoulder to look at his little brother. "Hey, Al," he said softly.

"Brother?" Al said disbelievingly.

"Yeah."

Roy heard a lot of frantic movement before he suddenly saw Alphonse throw himself at Ed in front of him, making the two boys crash to the floor. "BROTHER! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"I'm sorry for scaring you," Ed said, hugging Al tightly. "It was the only way to keep you safe."

"I thought you were dead," Al sobbed as Ed gently stroked his hair. "We buried you."

"I know. I was there. I'm so sorry for putting you through that."

Roy sat there, smiling at his two boys. Al cried for a long time.

"But how are you alive? The pathologist said that there was no doubt."

"I'll tell you everything, but I'd like to sit up first."

Al got off of Ed and moved up on one of the camp beds. Roy sat himself up too and put an arm around Al. Ed looked unsure as to where to place himself, so Roy grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to sit on his lap, and so Roy was able to hug both of his boys while they also hugged each other. And he wasn't going to let go of them for a very long time. Ed might be both too big and the port of his automail leg was digging into Roy's thigh, but he didn't care. It didn't matter. Ed was alive and Roy was finally able to hug him.

"Okay, so it began with Ishbal and that attack," Ed began. "They kidnapped me and tied me up and brought me to this cave. There was this General, Freeman, I've later learned, and he told me a lot of stuff, but I don't remember most of it, the doctor guy drugged me. Anyways, I thought they'd kill me, but Fredricks stopped it. He has this no-killing-kids policy, and the doctor didn't want to torture and kill me either, so they faked it. I woke up in a car with Fredricks driving. He told me that the doctor had made a fake head by using some of the limbs they'd cut off the other soldiers, and he'd taken some blood and then shaved my head and used alchemy to make that thing you found, Gen – _Dad."_

Roy felt something stir at the back of his head at the choice of words. "So I didn't imagine it. You really did say goodbye," Roy said quietly, squeezing Ed closer to him. Hearing Ed call him that really meant a lot to him.

"Yeah. I helped Fredricks put you back in your bed, he was tasked with dumping the head thing and you." Ed looked up at him apologetically. "I didn't want to help them, but this thing is big. I need to stay dead until we have caught them. Otherwise I'll be putting everyone at risk. There are people placed everywhere in the military that don't want you to give the Ishbalans their holy land. They're basically a large group of racist bastards."

"But what happened after you left my house?"

"Fredricks dropped me off here. He brought me to what turned out to be a group working against these anti-Ishbalan jerks. I've been staying with Greg for the last week now."

"So why did you kidnap us?" Roy couldn't understand what exactly that had changed in order to go to such drastic measures.

Roy saw the boy look straight up at him with those golden orbs that he'd never thought he'd see again, and they looked scared, hurt and angry. "Because I remembered something at the last minute tonight. They're gonna frame you for my murder."

Roy felt shivers go down his spine as anger surged through him. "They're what?" He forced himself to speak calmly. "How could anyone believe that?"

"They've been building a case against you for the last week, you were going to be arrested today."

"On what grounds? What evidence is there?"

"They've got witnesses swearing to have seen us arguing and there's the fact that they've found your fingerprints on the murder weapon. They must have got them when you were unconscious. And that bastard Freeman has testified to me confiding in him that you've been hitting me repeatedly these last few months," Ed sounded both disgusted and awkward when he said that last part.

Roy honestly didn't know how to react. To suggest that Roy was abusing Ed and was actually willing to torture and kill him was sickening. "How the hell dare he! And after he ordered them to kill you. To torture you," Roy hissed. There was no doubt in his mind, he would burn Freeman for this. He would have done it anyway for ordering anyone to hurt his kid, but suggesting that Roy was the one who had done it?

He hugged them both closer, calming himself down.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Ed said quietly.

"Ed, don't be sorry. These people were going to torture you before they killed you, I'm just lucky that Fredricks showed a speck of decency."

_Otherwise you'd be rotting inside a cell before long, Roy, and Ed would really have been gone._

"So I guess I'm a fugitive," Roy sighed.

"Yeah. Sorry for that. We didn't know what else to do to keep you out of jail." Ed sounded awkward and a lot more subdued than normal.

"Don't be sorry, Ed, I'd rather be a fugitive and know that my boys are safe than inside a cell and framed for your murder."

"But if I only hadn't let them take me in the first place! It's my fault! And I let you two believe I was dead and I saw what it did to you! I saw you yesterday! I put you two through so much pain and now you're fugitives as well!" Ed was looking at them tearfully.

"Ed, don't you dare say that! You were put in an impossible situation and you've done exactly what I would have. This isn't your fault! I'm just thrilled that you're alive. We both are."

Ed leaned against Roy's chest and Roy could see the pain and fear that had been building up inside the boy reveal itself as tears.

For the first time in his life, Roy saw Ed sobbing. Ed was shaking with every emotion he must have felt this last week and he was looking like the kid he was. He was a child that was dealing with things that not even grownups should have to deal with, and he had been separated from the people he loved while doing it.

Al, empathetic as always, began crying too, and Roy just held them both tightly, muttering words of comfort.

He still couldn't believe that it was his Ed he was holding. That Ed was alive. That his boy was sitting here on his lap. But there was no question that it was Ed. The voice alone gave him away. Then there was the way he acted around Al. One couldn't fake that. And Al would have known immediately if it was a fake, he knew his brother better than anyone.

Roy was just a bit sad that the rest of the team couldn't share in on this knowledge without putting everything into jeopardy. Well, they weren't going to believe one word of the accusations against him. Neither would Führer Grumman. But with such compelling evidence, there was still the fact that Roy would still face some time in prison until the accusations against him were dropped. The Führer wouldn't be popular if he let the accused killer of Edward Elric walk free, and the new regime was built on trust. So no, Roy would just have to stay hidden and help however he could. But at least he had both of his boys by his side now.

Which made him feel very lucky despite the circumstances.

* * *

Ruth Beavers knew she was an old lady, but she was proud to be so. She kept herself in excellent shape and was out for her usual morning stroll with Maurice, her Dachshund. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to be out walking due to her vision, but she was stubborn and the weather was finally clear for the first time in days.

She was very fond of this particular forest, even if the rain had been pouring down so that the track was muddy and Maurice would certainly need a bath when they got home.

The forest was quiet and she hadn't met anyone else, probably because people generally didn't walk here after it had been raining so heavily. Besides, she had decided to try a new path today. She removed the leash from Maurice's neck, he was a well behaved dog and knew to come when called for. It was easier to manoeuvre herself on the slippery path that way, now that she had both hands free.

Maurice obviously caught a whiff of something up ahead, and leapt playfully forwards. Ruth smiled at him, wondering if he had finally found himself a spot worthy of his morning toilet break.

Maurice disappeared down a little hill next to a little stream that had been made by the recent weather, and so Ruth followed. She was a pensioner, she didn't have anywhere she needed to be after all.

There was no rush.

She found Maurice sniffing at a mound of soggy mud that had clearly been washed down the side of hill.

Then the dog barked and began digging into the mud. Ruth went curiously forwards. Maurice rarely barked after all. The dog kept digging and barking, revealing an odd rock of some sort. Ruth squinted at it, it had an unusual colour after all.

She leaned forwards to touch it, when she saw what it actually was.

Maurice hadn't found a funny-shaped rock like she had thought, but a naked corpse with its head and left leg missing.

* * *

**Oh, and I haven't asked about it before, but I really hope you people don't have a problem with the fact that I use British spelling and words and then suddenly have Ed and the others speaking American? It's just that I can't exactly imagine Ed threatening somebody with "I am going to kick your arse!"**

**So I really hope that you people don't find it annoying!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen**

Roy sat on the camp bed with Ed and Al, the three of them just hugging each other tightly for hours, talking. They talked about a lot of things, none of them wanting to move despite Roy and Al still being in their pyjamas and there were clean clothes three feet away from them. Which was the way this Greg man found them. Ed had given Roy a pretty okay impression of the guy, but Roy had yet to actually speak to him and make up his own impression of the man. He would, however, like to thank him for his help.

The look on the man's face as he slammed the door shut behind him put that in the back of Roy's head however.

"You're in trouble, General Mustang," Greg said somberly.

"What's wrong?!" Roy, Ed and Al said at the same time.

"They found the rest of Ed's "body" flimsily buried in the forest behind your house, sir. Apparently it's been there for about a week by the looks of it, but the rain has moved it into view sometime yesterday."

Roy felt his stomach clench. So it had begun.

"I'm sorry, sir, but half the military's after your head already. The body was naked, mutilated and it had been tortured slowly before the less vital organs had been removed, according to one of the secretaries."

Roy felt Ed and Al tense as the descriptions were delivered. He hugged them closer.

"I guess I dodged a bullet, huh?" Ed laughed shakily.

Roy felt his insides twist at the thought that Ed would actually have suffered through that if it hadn't been for Fredricks.

"Also, sir, every single soldier that works out in Ishbal have sworn that you and Ed never turned up." Greg looked awkward as he said it. "I'm sorry, sir, but you're not too popular with the discovery of that body. Right now it's your word against a lot of people and only those who know you are saying what bullshit it is. Rumours are spreading all over HQ because that's what these people want. And you disappearing just before you were supposed to be arrested, really doesn't help you look innocent."

"I understand, thank you." Roy really didn't know what else to say right now. Out of all the despicable crimes to be accused of, that was one of the worst he could think of. He was angry and felt betrayed that so many officers lost their trust in him so quickly. But these were Eastern officers. He'd proved his worth back in Central, but here he was still very much the Hero of Ishbal which meant that he was a mass murderer to a lot of these people and little else.

It was Ed and Al's turn to hug him.

* * *

Riza was confused as to what was going on. The General was gone just before he was accused of Ed's murder? There was no way that he would lay a finger on Ed, and they were seriously thinking that he'd slowly torture him?

She was called in for questioning because of her closeness to General Mustang and was looking at a cold-eyed, unpleasant officer. He was glaring at her like she was the one who killed Ed. As usual, she conducted herself as coldly and professionally as she could.

"Captain Hawkeye, do you have any idea as to the whereabouts of Brigadier General Mustang?" The man had a thin, annoying voice and tried to sound like a tough guy even though he had a slight lisp.

"No, sir, I do not."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Yesterday at Colonel Elric's funeral. I gave him my umbrella. It was at about four o'clock, sir."

"Are you aware that Alphonse Elric seems to have gone missing too?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why do you think that would be?"

"Alphonse was staying with him, sir, it would only be natural for him to go away with General Mustang."

"And why was Alphonse staying with him?"

"General Mustang has become something of a father to him these last few months, sir. With his only remaining family now dead, he would most likely wish to travel alongside with him."

"Did Colonel Elric have the same kind of relationship to General Mustang?"

"Yes, sir."

"Captain Hawkeye, are you aware of the allegations that General Mustang has been abusing Colonel Elric during this time?"

"No, sir. I do not believe that to be true, however."

"Why do you not?"

"Because General Mustang loves the Elrics like his sons. He would never do anything to harm them."

"So the many quarrels between General Mustang and Colonel Elric that have been reported are what, according to you?"

"I beg your pardon, sir, but plenty of teenagers tend to rub their parents up the wrong way. It does not mean that they didn't care about each other. Mostly it has just been friendly teasing and little else."

"So you do not think that General Mustang would be capable of killing him, is that what you say?"

"Yes, sir. He would never torture a child, much less any of the Elrics."

"So you do not believe that General Mustang has kidnapped Alphonse Elric to do the same to him as he did to his brother?"

Riza nearly lost it. Is that what they were thinking? How could they believe such a thing? Didn't they see him at the funeral?!

"Certainly not, sir. It is much more likely that he has chosen to become a fugitive in order to look after Alphonse," she forced herself to say.

"Very well, Captain Hawkeye, you are free to go."

"Thank you, sir."

Riza walked out of the interrogation room and down the corridor where she ran into Havoc and Breda. "Hey, Riza," Breda said.

"Hi, boys," she said in a mournful tone as she threw her arms around their necks and swung them around as she whispered, hardly moving her lips at all, "give me the name of the officer Ed supposedly went to speak to about the General abusing him." She released them, "hope to see you later at the bar. We're having a drink in Ed's honour, after all!" She then began fake crying, her tears nearly the real deal after hearing about what happened to him. Looking like she was emotionally destabilised seemed to be the best way to deliver messages these days. After all, a lot of people knew she had a soft spot for the Elrics, and it hurt very easily to think about Ed these days.

* * *

Riza walked into Madame Christmas's temporary bar as the woman was waiting to get a new location back in Central. Breda, Fuery, Havoc and Falman were all sitting there in a booth, Havoc waved at her once to get her attention.

She sat down together with them and sighed inwardly. She had been bombarded with questions from almost every single officer that recognised her. Most of them kept hinting towards the fact that they really shouldn't have expected anything better from the Hero of Ishbal and some said that the war must finally have done its work on him. They had turned against the General quickly after his original promotion to Central.

"They're really trying to say that he's a psychopath?" Havoc said, reading her expression.

"Yes. And they are treating Al's disappearance as a kidnapping now as well."

"How can they think that the General would do something like that to Ed?" Fuery said weakly.

"Something's obviously going on here, I'm just glad the General got away before it caught up to him and landed him in jail," Breda said with a scoff.

"Did you get my order?" Riza asked.

"Yes, the Madame just needs some time to prepare it for you."

"Of course."

* * *

Ed was lying in the camp bed between Al and Dad. It felt funny to think of him that way, but it also felt right. And he was hugging Al as he lay on the couch next to him while Dad hugged Ed. It was nicer and warmer than it had been for days. To have a strong, warm arm hugging him like that made his fears and anger go away. The second camp bed stood forgotten on the floor. And so he could hold onto his little brother who still occasionally broke out into tears of joy. It was great to be lying here, feeling loved and knowing that they weren't angry with him. That they didn't blame him for not being able to tell them that he was still alive. It didn't mean that he didn't feel guilty about it, though, but right now, he would take what he could get, because it made Al happy.

It made his Dad happy.

It was confusing to go that final step with calling him that, but after everything that had happened, Ed was actually happy to have a parent.

Because he needed it.

And those bastards had the guts to accuse Roy Mustang of killing him, torturing him? It made him so angry he felt like hitting something.

Instead he just squeezed his left arm, the one not holding Alphonse, around Dad's right, which was lying across Ed's chest.

They must look like a gang of sentimental fools, but Ed deserved this, dammit.

And so he closed his eyes and fell asleep as the warm arm squeezed him back, making its silent promise never to leave him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen**

**_The missing body_**

_Colonel Edward Elric's body has been discovered. _

_It was confirmed yesterday that the body found by a local woman did in fact belong to the late Colonel._

_"__It was horrible, when the stench hit me…" Ruth Beaver (74) begins. "And that it was that poor lad. I should have guessed so from the start, but still… and there were worms crawling on it, I have never seen anything so sickening before in my life. Such a young boy, left like that … it makes me want to cry."_

_Ms. Beaver wiped a tear from her cheek. "And now Mr. Mustang is accused of murdering him. I've talked to them plenty of times, the young boy was here many times together with his brother. I live next door after all. But just know that I don't believe one word of it. Mr. Mustang is a good man who loves those boys, you'll see."_

"How can they say something like that?! They can't believe that General Mustang would do this to Ed, can they?!" Winry said, slamming the newspaper down on the kitchen table and looking over at Granny. "To suggest that he would torture Ed!" Winry felt her eyes fill up with tears at the thought that he had been subjected to so much pain as the last thing he ever did.

She knew what the General had come to mean to the Elrics, in a way she was a bit disappointed that Ed and Al had stayed in East City with him instead of coming back to Resembool once Al had his body back, but she understood it. And they deserved what he could give them.

And now the General was being accused of not only murdering Ed, but torturing him to death! Something wasn't right here. She hadn't talked much to him, but she knew that he wasn't someone who would do that to anyone, let alone Ed. He wasn't the psychopath that killed Ed and he certainly hasn't kidnapped Alphonse!

"Granny, I think something's up with the military and that Al is in hiding with the General. I think they found out what was going on and went underground," Winry said, still shedding tears.

"I think you're right, dear. And I also think that Al is safer with him than without him right now."

Not for the first time, Winry sunk to her knees and hugged her grandmother tightly, sobbing. "I miss Ed so much. I can't believe he's just gone like that."

"I know, Winry, neither can I."

* * *

**_The Hero(?) of Ishbal_**

_Brigadier General Roy Mustang was supposed to be arrested yesterday for the gruesome murder and torture of Colonel Edward Elric. Incriminating evidence has recently been discovered, telling a very different story about the relationship between the two officers._

_With his fingerprints on the knife used to behead the sixteen-year-old, General Mustang was to be arrested yesterday for killing his subordinate. An official concerned source has also testified to having been confided in by the young officer that behind closed doors, the General was in fact abusing Colonel Elric for months._

Führer Grumman threw the newspaper directly into the fireplace in his office. He knew Mustang, to make such accusations against him was scandalous. All this proved was that someone within the military was trying to frame him and nothing more. He had a suspicion that his undercover team had something to do with the disappearances, they hadn't been in contact for over a week now.

Which probably only meant that after the murder, they had no longer deemed it safe to make contact with him.

_Well, Mustang, wherever you are right now, stay safe. And I hope you've got somebody to play chess with._

* * *

**_Where is Alphonse Elric?_**

_With accusations of months of abusing Colonel Edward Elric, Brigadier General Mustang seems to have taken the final step of killing his young subordinate in the most brutal fashion. With the discovery of the rest of Colonel Elric's body in the forest behind his house, as well as his fingerprints on the murder weapon, it would seem that the Brigadier General is not the man the public believes him to be._

_The only question now is __**where is Alphonse Elric? **__Many are saying that the fifteen-year-old must have met the same fate as his older brother in order to silence him from telling about the abuse. Whether these rumours are true remains to be seen, but it is clear that the General disappeared along with the younger Elric the day he was supposed to be arrested. The military is officially treating Alphonse Elric's disappearance as a kidnapping and –_

"BULLSHIT!" Ed yelled, slamming these "news" onto the table in disgust. Every single newspaper in the country was in on displaying the false stories those racist bastards had come up with. Some were keeping an open mind while others seemed to be ready to shoot Dad on sight. It wasn't fair. And Ed could stop this. If he could just walk into the office of the Führer and tell him that he was alive and everything else was bullshit, then it would be a hell of a relief, just so these people would stop framing Dad for this.

There was just one tiny detail that made Ed kind of embarrassed, and that was the fact that his fake body was naked when found, which raised the question: did the doctor take a peek while Ed was drugged? Was a copy of his private parts freely obtainable for a lot of officers down at the morgue?

Ed felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Dad trying to be unreadable, but his eyes gave away some of the anger he felt as he saw what Ed had been reading. He sighed deeply. "So now I'm a torturer and a kidnapper to boot?"

"Yeah, and a possible serial killer," Ed said bitterly.

"What?" Al said, looking shocked as he placed the milk on the table in front of them, making Ed scowl at the offending carton. "They think Dad killed me too?"

"Apparently so," Dad said heavily as he sat down on Ed's right side, still keeping his left arm around Ed's shoulders. Like Al, he didn't seem to want to risk letting go of him for too long at the fear of losing him again. Ed didn't really mind. Instead, he just leaned his head against his shoulder, closing his eyes. He had missed them so much this last week, so to just have them here was a relief beyond words. He missed officially being alive, but at least now he had Al and he had Dad and they didn't believe him to be dead. They weren't hurting anymore because of it.

Al leaned against Ed's left side as Ed put his arm around him, leaving him in the middle of a hug sandwich of sorts.

"I'm sorry I can't just stroll into the office and get these ridiculous claims against you dropped," Ed said quietly. They left him angry beyond belief. As if Dad would do anything like that. And the newspapers were publishing this crap, only caring about sales and little else.

"Don't worry, Ed. At least now I know that you're alive. I'd be sitting in a cell thinking that I'd been framed for killing you and had failed to not just keep you safe, but your brother too now if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, but still. This could permanently hurt your reputation."

"Ed, that would have happened either way. Don't worry about it."

Ed felt a hand on his cheek and sighed. "You're a fucking hero, you know, you don't deserve this."

"Ed, I'm no war hero."

"I'm talking about taking us in. Taking care of two teenagers isn't that easy, you know. And now you're being accused of fucking torturing us instead! It's not right."

"Ed, we will clear my name someday. As long as I know that you two are safe, that's all I ask for."

"You're being too noble for your own good. Right, Al?"

"Kinda, yeah."

* * *

Al looked at his brother. He was wearing that black wig again, but his eyes were their usual gold. Al still couldn't quite believe that it was him. That he was sitting next to him, that it was _his_ beloved brother that was sitting here, _alive._ Al had never seen the head or the body, but knowing that it wasn't him, that it was fake, Al had never been happier in his life. To go for a whole week, believing that he would never ever get to hug his brother again. To laugh along with him. To joke. Not even be able to smell him again so soon after finally getting his body back. It was the worst pain he had ever felt. But here they were, the three of them. A family. It didn't matter that they were living in a way too small apartment that they shared with Greg. It didn't matter that they couldn't go back outside. They had each other again. They were happy. And Ed was here with them. And Al knew that Winry and Granny would know that going into hiding with Dad was his own choice. After all, when they arrived the day before the funeral, Granny had done a full evaluation of Dad's capabilities as a father.

"You see? Al agrees with me and he doesn't lie!" Ed said stubbornly.

"Brother's right, you're sacrificing a lot for us. This could damage your career."

"As long as you two are there to back me up when the time comes, it will be all right."

"I hope so, Dad."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter fifteen**

Major General Carl Freeman was happy. Tipping most of the newspapers in the country while "letting things slip" to their fellow officers was working perfectly. Things had gone according to plan. He had hoped that the body would show up today instead of yesterday, but otherwise things were good.

Carl hadn't foreseen that Mustang would be clever enough to figure out their plans before the arrest, but that too was working in their favour. Now even more people believed him to be guilty and even to have kidnapped Alphonse Elric. With the Elric kid in hiding, the rumours of "abuse" were actually strengthened because there weren't anyone left to actually have witnessed the truth.

No, things were good. He had laughed himself silly after having given his statement about "poor Edward confiding in me about the abuse he faces on a nearly daily basis. He's too scared to report it. I try to be there for him, you know, but with him nearly constantly under that brute's eye, it's not easy. I'm so sorry for not reporting it, but I was afraid that Mustang would try to kill him and Alphonse if he found out. I was going try to send them away on a mission to get them help only next week, but I was too late!" A fake tear and a sniffle, and the Investigations officer was eating out of the palm of his hand.

Then, when the knife was discovered in the trash can outside Mustang's house, the man really didn't have a chance. Carl had discredited him completely and he would never be able to give Ishbal back to those filthy freaks. It belonged to Amestris after all. Those brown-skinned bastards were unnatural. They dirtied everything they touched. They didn't deserve anything other than the same slow death that Edward Elric had received.

He still laughed at the treatment the brat had got. It had been so fun to look into those golden eyes of his as he lay there. They were so full of fierceness and defiance, it was hilarious. He had considered asking Wells if he could keep them, but after the treatment the brat got, that defiance would be replaced with fear, and he already had plenty of those. It was a bit of a shame, really, but it all worked out for the best.

He looked at the pictures of the head and body. Wells had done a good job, clearly working slowly to cause the kid as much pain as possible. He really was a talented man. Such a shame about that heart attack, but working on cases concerning kids your own son's age really didn't strengthen it. That son, Otto or Oscar or something, he was found having slit his wrists after drinking heavily. Him and his father had been so close, Carl knew about that. If was the recent breakup that he didn't know about, so it actually wasn't even by Carl's orders that the kid had died.

_Ah, well. Easy come, easy go. The boy doesn't really matter to me anyway anymore._

No, that kid didn't have any backbone at all. Edward Elric, though, he'd been fun to torment. When he'd regained the ability to speak and was struggling as he lay on the floor, it really was a laugh.

_"__YOU SICK BASTARDS! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA TORTURE ME FIRST IF YOU'RE JUST GONNA KILL ME?! OR ARE YOU BACKING UP ON YOUR WORDS?!" _

_The brat was screaming, such delicious rage filling those golden eyes. Really made them look like they were blazing with fire. And the best part was, he was just trying to drag out the time so that he could get loose._

_"__Of course we'll kill you, but we won't stop there! We'll frame Mustang for it!"_

_"__THE HELL YOU WILL! I'LL KICK YOUR ASSES BEFORE YOU EVEN GET THE CHANCE!"_

_Carl sat down in front of him, lifting the boy's head by his hair so that they were eye to eye and he could really take in that fierceness. That self-deceiving, lovely rage._

_"__Oh, come on now, Edward, we're friends after all." _

_The kid seemed to explode with anger. Really, this was too easy. And so much fun. Because there was a tiny trace of fear. He was going to have some fun before he let this one go._

_"__WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU EVEN SUGGEST SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! YOU'VE BEEN GOING ON ABOUT HOW YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME FOR THE LAST FIVE FUCKING MINUTES! __**IN DETAIL!**__"_

_"__Oh, but you need to understand me, Edward, we are friends. That's what I'm going to tell the lovely people at Investigations."_

_"__WHY THE HECK WOULD YOU DO THAT, YOU DISGUSTING, RACIST BASTARD?!"_

_"__Because I have been growing very concerned about you lately, Edward. You keep telling me stories about how Daddy Mustang is always hitting you. I know it can't be easy, but I'm really trying to help you. Oh, Edward, why won't you let me help you before it is too late?" Carl loved putting on a good show, and the desperate, heartfelt way he said it left even himself impressed._

_The outrage grew even more."DON'T YOU DARE!"_

_"__Oh, but Edward, it's okay. I'll get that man far away from you and your brother." Carl figured he might as well just mess with the kid a bit more and stroked his cheek with his left hand, making shushing-noises. "It's okay."_

_The brat spat at him. "Get your filthy hands off me!" he hissed._

_Carl decided to take the kid's words literally, dropping him back to the ground, making his chin slam against the stone floor. He lifted him up again, he really had such perfect hair to do this with. The kid spat some blood out, he had obviously either bit his tongue or lip. _

"Ah, such fine memories," Carl said to himself.

* * *

It was about lunchtime that Ed figured out that something was wrong with Al. His brother had been acting normally all day, smiling and laughing, when he suddenly began shivering violently despite the warmth of the flat. Dad was taking a shower, so Ed was alone with Al. They were sitting in the couch, Ed with his left arm around his brother, Al's head on his shoulder. Ed wasn't unfamiliar with Al needing a mid day nap these days, his body was still healing from being stuck in the Gate. He didn't shiver in his sleep, though, and Ed grew worried. He felt his forehead and could immediately tell that his little brother had a fever.

It wasn't unusual for Al to get sick, his immune system had taken a beating during those five years and that didn't right itself in just four months.

Al began shivering harder and his face turned pale and green and he woke with an "I don't feel too good, Brother."

Ed jumped out of the couch and got a plastic bucket out of the cupboard under the sink and handed it to Alphonse. He then ran over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Hey, Dad! Al's got a fever! He's sick too!"

Ten seconds later, Dad opened the door and stood there in only his boxers, water dripping from his hair and the rest of his body and he was looking worried. Al was shivering, bucket in his lap, suddenly looking like he was near death with how pale his face was. Dad strode forwards and helped Al out of the couch and supported him into the bathroom to kneel in front of the toilet. Al clutched it immediately and began sobbing just as Ed wetted a washcloth with cold water and handed it to Dad.

"I h-hate this. I don't want to be sick again," Al wept, looking scared as the cold cloth was pressed to his forehead and he kept shivering. Ed hated the familiarity of the scene, it happened often enough and it left his little brother so scared of the next time, after all, it wasn't exactly pleasant, especially when one hadn't had a fever in seven years.

Ed placed another cold cloth over Al's neck and kneeled beside him, placing his right hand on his shoulder for support while Dad muttered words of comfort. Ed hated watching his brother like this. It made his stomach churn and all he could really do was wait and see if Al was going to throw up before bringing him some Paracetamol. Al began retching, still crying, while Dad gently stroked his hair.

Once they were sure that the wave of sickness was gone, Ed went for the medicine cabinet while Dad gently dried Al's face and tears away and hugged him. Ed found the Paracetamol and went to get a glass of water in the kitchen, turning around to find Dad already lying Al down on the couch. Ed handed Al the painkillers and the water and Al dutifully drank it all up while Dad placed some pillows behind his back to keep his head elevated. After that Ed took the glass from Al and found the thermometer in the medicine cabinet. He went back into the living room to find Dad having somehow found just enough space next to Al to sit on the edge of the couch and was gently stroking his cheek. Ed put the thermometer into Al's mouth and watched as his little brother shivered and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry," Al said, looking up at them. "This really isn't a good time."

* * *

**I seriously hope you guys got the reference to my favourite song in this chapter, I just had to do it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**So I'm slightly disappointed that nobody seemed to respond to me putting in a reference to Bohemian Rhapsody in the last chapter with the "easy come, easy go" followed by "doesn't really matter to me." But I guess it's alright. Maybe I'm just too much of a fan of Queen for it to be for my own good… hehe…**

* * *

**Chapter sixteen**

Roy was worried about Al. The boy had been ill quite a few times these last four months, but at least the first two, he'd been at the hospital with whatever medicines he needed. Right now they only had two rolls of toilet paper, washcloths and water, four Paracetamols and a thermometer to help them with no way to get Al to a doctor.

Al got pretty bad even from colds and Roy felt quite useless as a parent when he couldn't even get his son to a hospital in of the largest cities in the country. It left him frightened that he could only guess as to what was wrong with him. A lot of things could cause fevers. Hopefully this was just a cold and nothing more. Sitting in the rain at the funeral like that would explain it for instance.

"I'm cold," Al said, still shivering.

Ed handed Roy the duvet from the camp bed he was sitting on. Roy put it on top of the duvet already covering Al. Ed rose and came back with a blanket which he used to cover Roy with. Roy looked up at him slightly confused as he carefully put it around him.

"You're shivering too, you know. Did you even dry yourself off at all, or did you just pull on your boxers?"

Roy hadn't even thought about it, all he had registered was that Al was sick and Roy needed to cover himself up. And so he had pulled on his boxers and let himself air dry in a pretty cold basement flat in favour of taking care of Al. So yes, he was shivering.

Ed sighed and came back with a towel and began drying Roy's hair. He could hear Al laughing.

"What's so funny, Alphonse?" Roy asked, barely avoiding getting a finger in his eye.

"It's just seeing you two. You're acting like a real family and with that black wig, Brother really could be your son. It's just nice to see you be so relaxed around each other now. Something's changed with you two these past few days."

"Al, you try losing your son and then discover him to be alive and see what that does to you," Roy said.

Roy felt Ed's arms slide over his shoulders so that his cheek was pressed to his, Ed's arms around his chest. "So I'm your son now? I'm honoured, Dad," Ed said, smiling, a bit of teasing in his voice. Al laughed again.

Roy just cherished the fact that the hug was still real. Ed would never have hugged him if he didn't want to. Ed never showed that kind of affection if he didn't mean it.

"You're both my sons and you're the best ones in the world." Roy stroked Al's cheek with his right hand at the same time that he lifted his left to rest at Ed's neck, hugging the boy back.

Alphonse smiled despite looking pretty bad with his fever of 39 degrees. "Thanks, Dad."

"Yeah, thanks," Ed said.

They kept standing like that until Al was sound asleep, still smiling. Then Roy grabbed Ed's hands and stood up, causing the boy to hang over his back like some kind of cape before Roy promptly dumped him on the camp bed. Ed was still grinning as he stood back up. Roy just pulled him in for a hug. He was still stunned that Ed was alive. That he was here. His wonderful boy was here. Both of them were. "I'm so glad you're alive."

Ed hugged him back while pressing his cheek against Roy's. Roy still wasn't quite used to Ed's recent growth spurt. In a way it made Roy feel oddly small instead of his son having grown big. And it was a bit scary to think about, because it really reminded Roy that Ed wasn't a child in the normal sense. He'd been a military officer for four years now. In a way he was very much a grownup already. "I'm so glad you're here, Ed. More happy than you'll ever know."

Ed hugged him tighter. "I'm glad that you're here too, Dad. I've really missed you guys." Ed sighed happily. "But you still need to get dressed, you're freezing."

Ed released him from the hug and pointed towards the bathroom. "Now, Dad, or you're gonna get sick too. If you picked something up at the funeral, then I'd rather not have you guys back just to not be able to hug you for a week."

"Yes, sir," Roy saluted, grinning at him.

Ed rolled his eyes as he smiled.

Roy returned five minutes later in a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants, feeling very uncomfortable indeed. Ed was placing a newly wetted cloth on Al's forehead and looked up at him with wide eyes. Then the kid began laughing, doubling over.

"Please, Ed, it wasn't my idea."

"It's got red and white _stripes_?!"

"It was all Greg had in my size, Ed." Roy had never been so embarrassed to wear a garment ever in his life. "It wasn't my fault that they kidnapped us without our suitcases."

Ed was practically wheezing, sitting on his knees and holding his stomach before he just gave up completely and lay down on his side, shaking with laughter.

"You look like a teenager!" Ed giggled.

Roy knew he should be more embarrassed than he was, but to be able to see Ed laughing like that when he'd been to his funeral just three days ago, made him smile and laugh along with him instead.

And so they laughed for about ten minutes before Ed was done and Roy sat down on the camp bed above him and pulled him up on his lap. Ed hugged him back, putting his arms around Roy's neck while pressing his cheek against Roy's.

Roy had a feeling that the number of hugs would diminish in the future, but right now they were still so happy to be able to do it again.

"But honestly, Dad. I saw you when you found the head. I didn't know that it would break you that much. I'm sorry."

Roy remembered finding that thing and could still feel the horror it brought. "You don't have to say you're sorry, Ed. And of course it would break me. I love you two. I thought you'd been killed because of me. I should have protected you so that you didn't get into such danger in the first place."

"So we're back to blaming ourselves like always? Well, stop it. There's no point and I'd rather say it was that General Creepy that's to blame anyways."

"You're not going to let me change your mind, are you?"

Ed did something surprising yet slightly familiar and gave Roy a peck on the cheek before he returned to the hug. "Nope."

Roy sighed. "But what I would like to apologise for is me nearly strangling you when I woke up here."

"Hey, that's alright. If it was me, I'd probably do the same. Don't worry."

There was just one last thing that was all on Roy, however, which had been gnawing on Roy's conscience for a while, especially with the recent claims of abuse.

"… And Ed, there's one last thing. I really shouldn't have hit you last year in that alley."

Ed seemed to freeze slightly at that one. The kid couldn't exactly explain that away and neither could Roy. He'd hit his subordinate. He'd hit his fifteen-year-old subordinate hard in the face.

"It's okay," Ed said quietly.

"No, it's not. You were angry, and rightfully so. You thought I had just killed an innocent woman, turned her into a charred corpse, and you got angry with me. I know it was just an act, but I shouldn't have hit you. I'm so sorry for doing that. I hurt you."

"You're getting worried about those abuse claims, is that it? It was only once and you were only being a bastard so that any eventual onlookers thought you'd really killed her. It's alright."

"I'm sorry, Ed. I still hit my kid no matter what."

"Then I guess we're even for me letting you bury me."

"Ed, don't say that, you didn't have a choice, I did."

"Hey, I was being insubordinate."

Roy closed his eyes and hugged him tighter. "I was still the grownup. I shouldn't have hit you. I'm sorry."

"I'm over it, Dad."

Well, Roy certainly wasn't.


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay, so I may have had a bit too much fun in the second part here, but they need some way to cheer themselves up with all that is happening and while they still can't do anything.**

* * *

**Chapter seventeen**

It had been four days since the funeral now. Eleven days since Edward was found dead.

Yet it didn't get any better.

It still hurt just as much as it had the day the General had called her. Since she'd seen the tortured remains of Edward Elric.

Riza put yet another red rose on the grave. Alphonse had told her why they had gone with the red ones instead of white. Because right now she really wanted nothing more than for Edward's blood to be pumping through his veins again. For this to have been some sort of nightmare.

Because it sure felt like one.

Riza was suddenly alone. The others had been reassigned to other officers in other cities. Breda was up North now together with Falman. Havoc had been sent to Central to work under Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong and Fuery was sent West.

And Riza felt just like half a year ago.

Because now she was working under Major General Freeman. She'd found out his name yesterday and today she got reassigned.

Which told her just how big this was. They were everywhere, because this time, they weren't just the homunculi and the higher-ups. This was every officer that wanted the General out of Ishbal. And people still feared the Ishbalans, so there were many sympathisers.

But this time around, she wasn't a hostage. She was just there for Freeman's sadistic sense of fun. He gloated at her as often as he could, hinting towards how horrible Roy Mustang was for hitting those boys.

Riza knew that Freeman had killed Edward. It was plain as day because of the many hints he gave her. He was having fun, showing her just how big this was. And Riza had to tread carefully because the rest of the team were still in danger if she messed anything up. And she could be framed as well, although Freeman still seemed reluctant to. Being the Führer's granddaughter had it's benefits after all.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I will find a way to get him. You're just going to have to wait a little longer." She walked forwards and put a hand on the gravestone. She felt a tear running down her cheek.

"Captain Hawkeye?"

Riza quickly dried her cheek and looked around to see a stranger with a red ponytail and a military uniform saluting her, a card of some sort under his arm. He walked forwards and handed her the card. "I'm First Lieutenant Greg Wilson. Me and some friends have made you a card with our sympathies, this must be especially hard for you, even if General Mustang turns out to have killed them."

Riza took the card a little surprised. And of course angry that this man still considered the General to be a killer. "Thank, you Lieutenant Wilson, that is very kind."

"Well, I hope you have a good day." Wilson then lay down a red rose on the grave too and left.

Riza opened the card slightly and saw a small message of sympathies and a lot of different signatures. Her eyes fell upon the handwriting and gasped slightly, but acted as naturally as she could.

Riza walked home where she was instantly greeted by Black Hayate. She scratched him behind the ear and then sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing a pen and paper. She knew that handwriting anywhere, she'd been his assistant for much too long not to recognise it.

_Dear Captain Hawkeye, _

_We are so sorry about the situation you are in and we hope that this card may cheer you up a bit._

_Our condolences may seem futile, but remember that you still have people that believe in you._

She looked through the names one by one and gasped, tears running down her face.

_William Everett Alexander Roberts Eleanor Samuels Anne Fiona Evans Bobby Olsen Dennis Yorke West Alfred Stocke Freddie Avery Kevin Epson_

Riza blinked repeatedly. There was no way that she'd read it right.

She did it over again and then a third time, still leaving her with the same message.

_WE ARE SAFE BODY WAS FAKE_

_WE ARE SAFE BODY WAS FAKE_

_WE ARE SAFE BODY WAS FAKE_

Which meant that Ed was still alive.

And judging by the way it was written without any orders for help or anything, it would seem that General Mustang was reunited with his boys once again.

Riza smiled, tears running down her face.

Then she sat down on the floor and hugged Black Hayate to her.

The battle wasn't lost yet, and by the sound of it, the General would contact her when the time was right. She just needed to wait a bit longer.

* * *

Al lay on the couch, laughing and coughing. They were feeling a lot more cheerful today after having delivered the message. It had been decided unanimously that Hawkeye would receive word about Ed's condition after Angela informed them yesterday that she was about to be transferred to Freeman's team. They felt really bad about it and Dad had needed to pin Ed to the floor as he tried to run out of the flat to have a word with "THAT DAMN RACIST BASTARD!"

And so they had decided to let her in on the secret instead.

Right now, however, they were laughing their heads off because they were playing a game, reading through the newspapers and reacting to them like either General Armstrong, Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong or Teacher. It helped remind them that there were still people who believed in them. And so Ed was General Armstrong, wearing a long, blonde wig that Greg had forgotten back in their flat, while Al was Teacher and Dad was doing a ridiculous, yet precise impression of Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong, throwing off the striped hoodie and flexing his muscles.

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! GENERAL MUSTANG WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO EDWARD AND ALPHONSE ELRIC! NOW I MUST GO TO THE NEWSPAPERS STRAIGHT AWAY AND RUB MY BEAUTIFUL MUSCLES IN THE EDITOR'S FACE UNTIL I SCARE HIM FROM EVER PUBLISHING ANYTHING OTHER THAN FLUFFY BUNNIES GETTING NEW HOMES! I SHALL INTIMIDATE HIM IN THE WAY PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!" Dad announced while Ed and Al were laughing loudly.

Al knew they were doing this to keep their minds off the fact that none of them could walk outside and they had had to stay indoors in a small flat for three days straight now and it was driving them a bit insane.

It was Ed's turn to read. He picked up the next newspaper headline to read that. What made it really funny was that they did every single page, which meant that a few rounds ago, Dad had had to read one about advice for home births, which seemed to scare him quite a lot as he read it out loud. His facial expressions as he kept reading made it absolutely hilarious, even if it gave them some unpleasant flashbacks to Rush Valley.

Once Ed had gathered himself enough to actually read it, he threw a black blanket over his shoulders on top of his blue hoodie and readjusted his wig so that he had a long lock of blonde hair covering his right eye.

However, instead of reading out loud, he turned towards Dad, scoffing, clearly in character. "Put your shirt back on, Alex! You are a military officer, not a swimwear model! Besides, that is not how you flex your muscles in the Armstrong family way!" He then threw off his hoodie and blanket, standing there in his black tank top. "THIS IS HOW!" He bellowed, flexing his own muscles in a more feminine, yet violent way. Then Edward pointed towards Dad with an imaginary sword. "You see, Alex! That is why you shall never be the head of the Armstrong family!"

Al was gasping for air because of his laughter. Ed was looking so incredibly stupid, it was a marvel to behold.

The best part, however, was the fact that Dad actually accepted the challenge and began flexing his own muscles.

And so began a furious battle of shouting and flexing until Ed decided to tackle Dad and sit down on his back. "YOU'RE STILL TOO WEAK, ALEX!"

* * *

Ed was having a great time, Al was laughing his head off and Ed was finally letting go of some of his frustration even if it was in a bit unusual fashion.

And besides, it let him forget just what the headline had read.

And so the newspaper lay forgotten on the floor, hidden beneath the bed while announcing that it had now been issued an order that if any officer saw General Mustang, they were allowed to shoot to kill.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter eighteen**

Riza was woken by the sound of knocking at two in the morning. It made her scared of bad news. She had been worried ever since Freeman announced that the orders were "shoot to kill" if they ever found the General. If that was why someone was knocking on her door, then she'd rather not open.

However, she threw her dressing gown around her pyjamas and went over to the door, not removing the chain, so the door got stuck after fifteen centimetres. It was a safety measure mainly caused by Black Hayate's high level of curiosity.

Her eyes fell upon a boy with black hair and blue-grey eyes and a bag slung over his shoulder. She thought she'd seen him at the funeral, but that was all. He put his finger in front of his mouth and handed her a note.

_Is the place bugged?_

Riza shook her head.

The boy smiled. "Then how about you let me in, Captain Hawkeye?"

Riza froze. She knew that voice.

She'd known that he was alive for three days now, but to actually hear him speak was something quite different. She threw off the chain on the door and pulled him inside by the front of his blue hoodie before she hugged him.

Ed made a few noises that were only to be expected of a teenage boy being suddenly hugged by a female colleague for the first time, but Riza didn't care. After a few odd spluttering sounds, she received a few gentle pats on the back.

She pulled out of the hug and Ed was blushing profusely. She just smiled and closed the door. "I've already checked the place for bugs and cameras, but tell me about what's going on, Ed? How are you still alive?" Riza was actually a bit amused by his face at this sudden display of affection. Riza may be a soldier, but at two in the morning when her sixteen-year-old coworker returned from the dead, she was first and foremost a friend. The last time she saw him, he'd been an eyeless head without a body, so to see him smiling at her was a relief beyond words.

"First of all, I need you to help me track down Doctor Marcoh. Al's got a bad fever and it's not getting better, and now Dad's started as well."

The boy blushed, having realised what he just said.

Riza just smiled warmly at him. She was happy for the three of them and she was happy that they were back together. "Of course I'll help. How did you get here, though?" She could hardly see how the General would allow Ed to walk out in the middle of the night on his own when he was in such danger if anybody recognised him.

"Well, Al was asleep and the General tried stopping me, but he got sick again and had to run for the bathroom, so I snuck out. Greg's on a mission, so it's just us three right now."

Of course he'd snuck out while the others were incapacitated. The boy may look unfamiliar, but he was still Edward Elric and just as stubborn as always.

"Well, I am going to have to get dressed before we can go," Riza said, taking in Edward's worried look.

That seemed to remind him of something, and he opened the bag, throwing her a red wig. "Use this. I've also got some green-coloured contacts for you."

Riza had to say that the boy came prepared for sure. "Where did you get these?"

"Greg forgot them back at the flat. I'm simply borrowing them."

"You know, Edward, you have a lot of explaining to do."

"I know, but after we find Doctor Marcoh."

* * *

Ed felt a bit odd, walking through the streets of East City with a Riza Hawkeye that looked nothing like herself at three in the morning. Ed had no idea why she had a short, violently pink, tight-fitting dress in her closet, but he sincerely hoped that it was either because of undercover assignments or lost bets. Anyways, with the hair slightly unruly and a pair of stilettos as well as a lot of makeup, the woman looked very much like Ed was escorting her home from a party. Either that or that she was a hooker. Ed sincerely hoped that it was the former, seeing as how he still was just sixteen. To keep up façades, she was leaning on Ed's shoulders, slurring quite a lot and varying the volume of her voice.

Ed was frankly terrified by how good of an actress she was.

They reached the outskirts of the city at about six o'clock and kept walking until they came to some slums occupied by Ishbalans. Hawkeye knew that this was where Doctor Marcoh was currently residing, trying to help the people that he helped kill during the war. Places like these needed doctors, so even though Doctor Marcoh was one of very few Amestrians in the place, he had been welcomed by the elders of the community.

However, they got some very dirty looks as they walked through the streets, trying to find the place that Doctor Marcoh lived.

Ed was impressed by Hawkeye. She had been walking barefoot for the last two hours, insisting that she was fine and that she would change footwear and her clothes once they reached Doctor Marcoh's clinic. Ed had been carrying her clothes in his bag ever since they left the flat, and he was worried about the state of her feet after such a long time. It did help that most of the road had been muddy, but still, Ed didn't exactly envy her.

They finally reached a sign reading "Mauro" outside one of the tents. Recognising the alias from last year, Ed smiled.

Hawkeye was still leaning on Ed, looking like she was about to pass out. That was probably the only reason that these Ishbalans had let them pass without question. Ed cleared his throat. "Uhm, Doctor Mauro?" After a few seconds, the tent flap was opened and Doctor Marcoh looked at them confusedly. "Yes?"

"Doctor Marcoh, I need a favour," Ed said.

At the use of his actual name, the man tensed. "Who are you?"

"You wouldn't believe me, but we're not here to hurt you. We need your help, Alphonse Elric and General Mustang need medical assistance."

The man's eyes widened and he ushered them inside. The tent was larger than the others, probably because it worked as a doctor's office. Ed was saddened to see the squalor that these people still lived in despite the work that Dad had started.

"Your voice sounds familiar, have we met before?" Marcoh asked just as Hawkeye straightened up, immediately looking alert as always.

"Well, yeah." Ed scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm Edward Elric."

Marcoh froze and stared at him wide-eyed. "But how?! That voice, it _is _you! My dear boy, thank god!" The man seemed to light up at the realisation. "I heard you were tortured to death, it caused an uproar even here. How are you still alive?"

"Well, some guys kind of made a fake body so I've been living in hiding for two weeks now. The bad guys think I'm dead, so I need to keep it that way or they'll just kill my friends and family."

"So I'm guessing that it's the military that is behind this? No one else would manage to frame General Mustang for this."

"Yeah. They're trying to make him stay out of Ishbal," Ed said bitterly. Being in the middle of an Ishbalan "camp" of sorts, seeing what they had to deal with, made him angry as hell. And it made him certain that he was going to stride up to that bastard Freeman and clock him in the face. He just regretted not having an automail arm to do it with. Maybe he'd kick him in the nuts with his left knee? That sounded about right.

Then he'd just have to keep Dad from scorching him. Ed was still afraid of how Dad would react to it if he ever met Freeman. He kept moving his fingers like he was just itching to snap them whenever he was mentioned. Ed may hate the bastard, but he didn't want Dad to go on another rampage like he did with Lust and Envy. Even if he'd been brought back from the edge, Dad was still in danger of being consumed by his rage. And it scared Ed, because he was afraid that he'd lose another father if it happened.


	19. Chapter 19

**So this chapter is basically an anxious and pissed off Roy discovering how much worry that comes with fathering Edward Elric...**

* * *

**Chapter nineteen**

Roy was worried as hell. Ed had just disappeared and he'd been gone for nearly ten hours now. He'd just said that he'd go to find Doctor Marcoh, even if Roy wouldn't tell him where he was. And Roy had been too busy retching to actually follow him. Besides, Ed had taken whatever disguises there were and Roy had a fever of thirty-nine degrees and one hell of a headache. Even though he knew that he should be getting some rest, Roy had just been sitting on one of the camp beds, his duvet tugged around him and glared at the door ever since he stopped throwing up. He was shivering and felt like hell, but he was going to yell at Ed for doing something so stupid right now.

At the same time, he was just as worried about Al as Ed was, and he knew that he needed medical attention, but by sending out Ed he felt like he was choosing which one of his kids was most important to him. Sending Ed out right now was like giving his son a death sentence. Roy had been torn up about it for two days now, because either way he risked losing one of his kids, and the third option would risk leaving the brothers without a father and he had sworn to them not to do that.

But now Ed was somewhere in East City with an enormous target on his back and looking for a doctor that had mostly gone underground. So Roy wouldn't give a damn about how sick he felt and how his whole body felt weak and hurt, he was going to watch that door until the kid came.

Why the hell did Ed have to be so stubborn?

And the most annoying part was that Roy was proud of him for this. He was fucking proud of the kid's heroic stupidity. Not many would dare to go outside when knowing that if they were discovered, death by torture was certain. Especially when the kid was just sixteen. And Ed was doing this because of his brother and because of Roy.

And that made it even worse, because he was touched as well.

"Edward, I swear, I'm going to give you an earful when you get back here!" Roy muttered angrily so that he wouldn't wake Alphonse. Al didn't need to worry about his brother any more than he already had. If he was asleep until Edward came back then it would be for the best.

Because Ed was coming back. There was no way he was going to leave them again. There was no way he would do that to Al.

To Roy.

Not again. Not when it would be permanent. He wouldn't do that.

Ed had defied death already. Roy remembered when Ed told him about it while he was staying with Roy while Al was in the hospital. It still worried him, because he didn't know how much of his life the kid had given up.

_Roy woke up in the middle of the night, needing to go to the bathroom. When he was done he heard moans coming from the guest bedroom. It sounded like Ed was having a nightmare. He walked down the hallway and gently knocked on the door. _

_"__Edward?"_

_The moans continued and then the boy began screaming for his brother. Roy made a split second decision and opened the door. Edward was lying there in his boxers, screaming and thrashing in his sleep, the covers kicked off him. _

_"__NO! IT WAS AN EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE! YOU SAID I'D GET HIM BACK! AL! AL!"_

_Ed was stretching his left arm forward for his brother. _

_Roy walked over, sitting down on the edge of the bed and grabbed Ed's shoulders. "Edward! Wake up! It's just a nightmare!"_

_He shook the boy, barely avoiding getting a fist in the face and a metal knee where they should never be, before he slowly opened his eyes and stopped yelling. Roy released his left shoulder as the boy lay in the bed, panting and sweating, looking scared around him. Roy turned on the lamp on the nightstand and Ed finally seemed to calm down as he recognised his surroundings. _

_"__Colonel?" Ed hastily dried away a couple of frightened tears._

_"__Yes. You were having a nightmare."_

_Edward sat up, still panting slightly as he looked over at Roy, looking both embarrassed and shaken. _

_"__So Al's –" the boy said weakly._

_"__Still in the hospital. He's back in his body and he's doing good." Roy spoke softly and calmly, still holding onto Ed's right shoulder. The arms were still mismatched to some degree, but Roy was still just thrilled by the fact that it was there. It wasn't cold, unfeeling metal anymore._

_Ed still looked a bit scared and surprised to find Roy there, but he didn't push his arm away. He just sat there, letting the facts of his reality sink over him. _

_"__Are you okay, Ed? Do you want to talk about it?" _

_"__Nah. It's nothing new. Thanks for waking me up, though." He looked away a bit at that, still a bit embarrassed._

_Roy's eyes suddenly fell upon a large scar in Ed's left side. Or, one of them. There was the one from when he broke into the lab, but there was an even larger one that really looked like the kid had been in some kind of horrific accident. Something Roy hadn't heard about. _

_"__Ed, what happened there?" Roy said, pointing._

_"__It's nothing." Ed was looking away now._

_"__Ed, that certainly isn't nothing! It looks worse than when Lust impaled me!"_

_Ed put his left hand in front of it to cover it up. Roy had a bad feeling at the thought of impalement. _

_"__Ed, let me see your back."_

_"__Nah, it's nothing I said," the boy tried again. _

_Roy sighed. "Show me your back, Ed. That's an order."_

_Ed grumbled but turned around, revealing another large scar about the same size as the one on his front. _

_Roy froze, looking at the remnants of a wound that the boy shouldn't have survived. _

_"__Ed, when did this happen?" Roy asked, turning him around to look at him. "There's no way you should have been able to survive this." _

_"__It really doesn't matter, okay? I didn't die, so it's all good." He was starting to sound a bit angry, but he still didn't meet his eye._

_"__Edward, what did you do? If you don't want to tell me, I'll just order you to, so talk to me, Ed."_

_Roy put his other hand on Ed's free shoulder, looking right at him. "Please, Ed. You did something to survive this. Tell me what happened."_

_Ed looked up at him and then looked down. "I got an iron beam through my stomach when the mine collapsed in Baschool," he mumbled. "Darius and Heinkel helped me pull it out and then I sealed it up with alchemy."_

_Roy knew that there was more to this. "That's not all, is it? Alchemy like that doesn't exist. Did you use a Philosopher's Stone?"_

_"__No."_

_"__Then what did you do, Ed?" Roy was doing all he could to stay calm, but it was getting damned hard. _

_"__I … used my own life force like a Stone." Ed just hung his head. "I didn't have a choice."_

_Roy froze, gripping the boy's shoulders. "How much did you use?"_

_Ed didn't answer and Roy's grip tightened. "Dammit, Ed, how much did you use?!"_

_"__I lost a few years of my lifespan__, __don't know how much, though."_

Roy still felt his stomach clench at the thought. To know that Ed had an unknown number of years left to live scared him. Even Al didn't know about that. Ed still hadn't picked up the courage to tell him.

And Roy couldn't blame the boy for having done it, because he wouldn't have been alive today if he hadn't made that choice.

Roy forced himself to calm down. But he'd sworn to himself that he'd try to make as much as he could with each day he had with those kids ever since.

So now all Ed had to do was come back. He had to come back alive and healthy, because if those people had got him and he was strapped to a bench somewhere getting tortured then Roy didn't know what he would do since the last thing he had said to him involved "Stay the hell where you are!"

Then the door opened and Ed came inside with Doctor Marcoh and an unknown redhead.

Roy immediately jumped up, strode forwards and enveloped him in a hug. Before the boy knew what Roy was doing, he had then lifted him over his shoulder and carried him with him to the bathroom. "We are going to have a long conversation about this, young man."


	20. Chapter 20

**So I decided that I would have some fun with this chapter with Roy really stepping into the role as parent, so I hope you people like it.**

* * *

**Chapter twenty**

"**Edward! Just what the hell were you thinking?!**" Dad said loudly the moment he put him down on the floor. Ed sat there, looking up at him. He had a feeling that the man would have shouted if he hadn't been looking so bad. Ed had practically felt the heat coming off him and Ed suspected that his fever had got worse since he left.

Right now, however, Ed realised something that scared the crap out of him. With letting go of that last barrier by calling him "Dad", Roy Mustang suddenly had the power to lecture him like a parent. And he seemed more than willing to do so right now.

_**Shit.**_

Ed felt the repressed fears of lost childhood blooming in his chest. He had mental pictures of Granny sternly lecturing him for an hour after he forgot a sandwich on the workbench so that Den had jumped up and scattered important screws and bits and bolts all over the place. Even though he had been taller than her even back then, it still brought him the fear of being a misbehaving child.

And right now Dad had the exact same look on his face. He even had his hands on his hips and Ed didn't dare stand up from his position on the floor. He looked disturbingly like Teacher.

This was a lot different than being scolded by the Colonel for blowing up an extra building or two during a mission. Then it was just bickering, followed by an outburst of insults from both parts before they somehow ended up with the Colonel threatening him with a court-martial. Back then they had been kind of equals and Ed had tried to be annoying. They had been kind of having fun and it had been him and the bastard Colonel.

This was different from having the General pulling rank when he didn't have the patience to wriggle information out of Edward because he was being too stubborn to say it outright. This was different from the caring uncle-y thing they had had going. This was different from the the exasperated sighs that would usually have been the beginnings of arguments back when he was just the Colonel.

This was **Dad**.

And Dad was **pissed off**.

He was absolutely furious with Ed and Ed could only stare at the man who was towering over him. Because he had made himself a kid again. He was this man's child. Ed had given him the authority to scare him by giving him that three-letter title.

And Ed had never seen this kind of rage in Dad's face. It was the "what-the-hell-were-you-thinking-young-man?!"-face.

Ed gulped.

"You, Edward Elric, are in deep trouble," Dad growled at him.

_Ah shit, it's the full name._

**"****Why the hell did you leave when I told you not to!? You could have been killed! You could have been tortured!"**

"But I wasn't!"

**"****That doesn't matter! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!"**

"Sorry…"

**"****Sorry doesn't cut it! You don't fix the fact that you have several military officers who want you dead with "sorry"! There's a reason why you're in hiding!"**

Ed just nodded his head.

**"****What if you had died again?! What if they had got you?! What do you think that would be like for me and Al?! We've already been through your funeral once! We do not need to repeat that experience!"**

"I only did it because the two of you were sick in the first place!"

**"****And I told you to wait until tomorrow when Greg comes back! Do you think it's easy to have to chose between my children like that?! Knowing that whatever I did, I'd be putting one of you at risk?! It was the best option and we would have been able to manage Al's fever on our own for another thirty-six hours and then you'd both be safe!"**

"But what if both of you got worse? What if we couldn't get the fever down?!"

**"****Right now it's a risk we're going to have to take! I could have used a disguise and got a doctor if it was crucial! You need to listen to me, Edward!"**

"But they're gonna kill you if they recognise you! At least I'm dead already! Nobody's looking for _me!_"

**"****That doesn't matter because it's my duty as an adult and my duty as your _father_ to keep you safe! I can't lose either of you boys again!"**

Ed saw something that scared him even more than the entire speech altogether. A single tear was running down Dad's cheek. He was done shouting at Ed and now the stress of the past ten hours finally seemed to catch up to him. He just sunk to his knees in front of Ed and looked at him with a kind of desperate, angry worry.

And hurt.

And Ed finally realised how much he had scared him tonight. Ed had made him think he was dead, then returned and now he'd given him ten hours to contemplate losing him again. Ed had hurt him by walking off like that.

And so Ed crawled forwards and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Dad. I thought I was doing the right thing, but you're right too. I'm sorry."

Ed received a hug back. A tight one. "Just don't do it again," Dad said softly. Then Ed felt the wig being pulled off his head. "You have no idea how itchy that thing makes hugging you." Then Ed received a kiss on his forehead before another tight hug. "I swear I'm going to burn it once you get your hair back."

"Deal."

"Good."

"So I guess a few things have happened between the three of you since I last saw you?" Ed heard Doctor Marcoh's voice say.

Ed froze, as did Dad.

"Quiet! The sound proofing's really bad!" Alphonse then said.

"Shitfuckhell!" Ed whispered. "They heard us?"

"I guess so," Dad whispered back.

Ed felt the heat rising in his cheeks. "No way in hell I'm gonna talk to them after this."

"Edward, you can't honestly mean that?"

"You just wait and see!"

Ed heard a sigh. He was still locked in the hug, not daring to move in fear of making another noise other than a whisper.

"By the way, Ed, who's the redhead?" Dad asked. He was still whispering though.

"That's Hawkeye. I didn't know where Doctor Marcoh was after all."

"How come you get her to wear short skirts?!" He actually sounded a bit envious.

Ed felt himself blushing even harder. "Dad! That's not really appropriate right now! And that's not something I'd ever want to discuss with you anyway!"

"Well, while we're on the subject, what about you and Winry? Has anyone ever told you about what you need to be careful about?"

Ed immediately broke out of the hug. "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! AND I DON'T EVEN WANNA KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"Then that means that we're going to have an overdue talk at some point." Dad wasn't whispering anymore.

"GAAAAAH! I KNOW WHAT **THAT** MEANS, THOUGH! SHE'S JUST A FRIEND! NOTHING MORE!" Ed knew he was blushing and he was embarrassed as hell.

_Dammit body, stop giving them even more reason to suspect it!_

And so Ed stood up and ran into the room and hid himself under his duvet, swearing to never come out from it ever again.

* * *

Roy sighed, standing up. He may have used a dirty trick to get Ed to actually force himself to face the others, but he was still going to have to talk to him about that girl at some point, because he clearly lacked some knowledge in that department.

And yes, he was slightly embarrassed about being so openly affectionate in front of Doctor Marcoh, but that couldn't be helped right now. He was however, proud of calling himself the Elrics's father.

He figured he might as well just hear what Doctor Marcoh was saying about what was wrong with Al now that Ed had brought him here, though, and walked into the living room to find a slightly confused Doctor Marcoh examining Alphonse.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter twenty-one**

Ed watched as Al and Dad fought against what Doctor Marcoh told them was a viral infection. Dad got better the next day, although he started coughing pretty badly. They managed to get Al's fever down with some stronger painkillers that Hawkeye snuck out to buy, and so Doctor Marcoh was gone by the next day. With it being the weekend there was nobody to miss Hawkeye for the time she was gone as long as she had collected Black Hayate.

All in all, it could have been worse. Even if he had a hard time trying to sort of balance the whole Dad thing now that Hawkeye was there too.

Then Greg came.

Followed by an old, tall, thin man who looked to be a Major General judging by his uniform.

Greg was grinning. Ed had never seen the man look so pleased.

"Everyone! We've got them!" Then he laughed.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked, hoping that this meant what he hoped it did.

"Colonel Elric, this is Major General Archibald Isaacs. And this man is the key to everything."

The tall man turned almost as white as his hair. "You're _alive_?"

"Yup. Now would you please just tell me how the hell you're "the key", sir?"

"I suggest we sit down first, it's a long story."

And so they all sat down on the camp beds and Dad sat down next to Alphonse on the couch.

"I'll be frank," Isaacs began. "I do not like your ambition, General Mustang. Ishbalans are filthy and dirty beings that deserve nothing more than what they got."

Ed felt his anger grow and he curled his fist so that he was ready to punch the man. "That's not a great start…" Ed growled.

"_However_, I do not approve of torturing and killing our fellow officers, and most certainly not a mere boy. I know full well how you were involved with saving this country this Spring, and I would like to see this as me paying off my debt. You were a part of saving not just this country, but also my life. Everyone's lives. I may not like you and the General, Colonel Elric, but I owe you a greater debt than can ever be repaid. It is a matter of honour. And it's a matter of being able to live with myself. I do not want to be part of an organisation that kills Amestrians, and certainly not one that tortures a child to death and then frames a man that helped save this country all together."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I am going to turn myself in to the Führer himself and give my statement, exposing as many people involved with this filthy business as I can as I go along. I can at least remember everyone I've met with, which includes the main people who are behind this."

"That sounds great! So what do we do, then?" Ed was grinning. This would mean that they would soon enough be allowed to breathe freely once again. Then Ed noticed the man losing some of his stiff composure.

"However, the organisation knows that I'm defecting, which means that getting to Central alive will be hard without proper backup."

"Which means that we're storming Eastern Headquarters in two days and you are going to make some noise, Edward," Greg said.

"What sort of noise?" Ed was more than ready. Dad looked worried however and was frowning.

"You're going to go to Eastern Times and tell them the whole story yourself."

"Sure! When?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. That way you can make the front page in two days, but not give them enough time to escape. We know where they live now after all."

"So that was your "mission"?"

"Yup."

"Great!"

"So you expect Edward to go alone and practically scream to the world that he's alive? You're willing to risk his life on this?" Dad said, a bit uncharacteristically.

"We're going use the sewer systems to get you there, so you're only going to have to walk about twenty metres out in the open. We're going to cover you and I guess the General is also going to come along?" Greg said to Ed.

"Of course I am!" Dad said.

"Well, I'm in!" Ed said, grinning.

* * *

That night was an odd one. It felt sort of like the night before the Promised Day, except this time it wasn't Ed's father, but his Dad that was with him. Ed still felt a bit odd about Hohenheim. The man had had a lot of pain and bad luck through his life, but he decided to leave them without telling them why. Ed couldn't forgive that, no matter what. It would have been so easy to leave a note, giving some kind of explanation, _just something. _

But it didn't happen.

He didn't even come to Mom's funeral.

He should have kept himself updated. He should have done something.

Even if he was willing to sacrifice himself to get Al back. Even though Ed had called him his father…

It was still just like he had said "just let me act like a father for once in my life."

Once.

Then there were all the times he didn't.

Ed didn't hate him anymore, but he couldn't think of him as "Dad". He was proud to be the son of a man who sacrificed everything to save the country, but he had never been much of a father.

And then he had gone off on his own once they were done fighting, not saying a word of goodbye even though he knew he was walking to his death.

He left them in his last few moments.

In his last moments on this earth, he chose to be at Mom's grave.

And that made Ed kind of happy, but it also hurt him.

Because Hohenheim had once again chosen to push Ed and Al away. Even when they were ready to give him a chance.

Even after Ed called him his _father_.

He just left.

He left them so he could rather be with Mom even though he was eleven years too late. Even though his sons were _right there_.

In the fucking hospital!

Ed turned around so that he was lying against Dad's chest, the strong arms closing around him.

"Are you fine, Ed?" Dad whispered. Al was already asleep. As was the Major General who was occupying the second camp bed and was currently snoring.

"Just thinking about Hohenheim. This feels a lot like the night before the Promised Day. I've got the same feelings as I did that night, but this time I've got you instead of him. It's just odd."

Ed received a kiss on his forehead. "I understand."

"And I guess I'm afraid that I'll lose you because of this. There are things that can go wrong and there are so many soldiers that are ready to shoot you on sight. At least Al's gonna be staying in the bunker."

"Ed, I'm not going to die. I promise."

"You better not. If you do I'll go back to calling you a bastard."

"Then I guess I prefer Dad."

"Good. So do I." Ed snuggled closer to him and received an even tighter hug in return. "Thanks, you know."

"For what?"

"For being my Dad. For being there for us whenever we need it. It's really good to have."

"Of course, Ed. I love being you and Alphonse's Dad."

"Thanks." Ed listened to the steady rhythm of Dad's heartbeats for about a minute. "Good night, Dad."

"Good night, Ed. I love you."

Ed smiled a bit. "Love you too, Dad."

It felt nice to hear and nice to say. Because it was true. Ed had a Dad in Roy Mustang that he had never had before. And he loved his Dad for it.

* * *

**I really hope that nobody's angry with me for what I wrote about Hohenheim, but I didn't write it because I try to find reasons for Ed to choose Roy over Hohenheim, but because I know how it is to have your father abandon you. Let's just say that I'm a nineteen-year-old who didn't get a Christmas present from her father who lives about five kilometres away... Or a merry Christmas at all...**

**So yeah, know that whole "being angry at your father" deal...**

**And I'm not writing this to get sympathies or anything, I just want you guys to understand why I portray Ed's feelings as I do.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter twenty-two**

Al was scared. Dad and Ed would be out in the open today. They could both get killed.

And Al would just be sitting here in this bunker, feeling like he was coughing his lungs up. He was so useless right now. That was a drawback with being back in his own body. He was so vulnerable. He could get shot and die.

And he could be rendered useless by a viral infection.

So now he was going to have to watch from the sidelines, just hoping that Brother and Dad made it out alive and unhurt.

Because Al honestly didn't know what he'd do if he lost either of them. Losing Brother, even for that one week, had left Al feeling more lost than ever before. It had been the most painful thing he had ever experienced and now that he knew what it felt like, he never wanted it to happen again. He couldn't take take it one more time.

And he couldn't lose Dad. He couldn't get Dad and then lose him so quickly again. Not over a bunch of corrupt military officers.

They didn't deserve to die today. Or tomorrow. Not until they were old and wrinkly and their time had come.

But for once, Al couldn't be there to protect them to make sure of that.

He would just have to wait.

Which was why part of him hated that they were in the military. They would always be in danger. The selfish part of him wished that they would just quit. Just stay home and be safe.

But no, they were out there and about to be risking their lives right now.

And Al would just be here.

"Please come back to me."

* * *

Ed was as ready as he was ever going to be, he guessed. Greg and Angela had taken Al and Isaacs to the bunker and once they returned, they were ready.

Ed would finally be alive again.

Dad wouldn't be a killer anymore.

And Ed was going to be there tomorrow morning to kick Freeman in the nuts.

Greg came in through the door, carrying a bag which he threw to Ed with a grin. "Got to make you look presentable."

Ed opened up the bag to find a blonde wig, leather trousers, leather boots, a tank top and a red coat.

He grinned and went straight into the bathroom.

He may not be as particular about his attire as he used to, but it was great seeing them again. Throwing on his clothes and wig, Ed looked happily at himself. The hair colour was a little bit off, but Ed could still make himself a plait.

Ed grinned and threw the bathroom door open to show himself off. Going with his old style really made sure that there was no doubt that it was him.

Dad smiled sadly at him and Ed guessed that he was both happy for seeing him like this again, but also scared about losing him. Ed strode forwards and sat down next to him. He was wearing a light brown wig, looking a bit odd, especially with the striped hoodie. But he couldn't walk outside without drawing attention to himself, not even with the wig. He still insisted on coming, however.

And Ed was ready to kick some ass.

And so he grinned up at Dad. He had never seen him look so anxious about a mission before, but he clearly was now.

"Hey, take it easy. This is gonna be great! I'm gonna clear your name and before you know it, we'll be beating Freeman to a pulp!" Ed said encouragingly.

In response Dad just hugged him. "Just be careful and don't take any stupid risks."

"Sure."

Greg stood up and smiled. "Well, I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be."

And so they were off. Ed was thrilled to be walking out in the open like this. His clothing filled him with a lot of confidence and nonchalance. It was great to stride purposefully once again as himself instead of looking over his shoulder. Dad was the one doing that.

Then three metres later, they went down a manhole and climbed down the ladder into the sewers. That really wasn't so great. The smell was unpleasant and with only a few flashlights to guide them, Ed had enjoyed the glory of fresh air and sun on his face a lot more than this.

They walked in silence, Dad was constantly keeping close behind him.

The tension was high, but there was a sense of celebration in the air. The end to this mess was close.

Ed felt like he was breathing again. The excitement was flowing through him. He was finally allowed to do something.

Then they came to a halt in front of yet another ladder. Ezra climbed up and lifted away the lid. Angela followed him up, then came Dad. When the coast was deemed to be clear, Ed climbed up.

"Okay, Ed, that's the building right there. Make a mess," Greg said.

Dad squeezed his right shoulder and then let him go and so Ed crossed the street and threw open the doors of _The Eastern Times_.

People looked up from their desks. Then Ed was just met with stunned silence.

"Hello, everybody! I'd like you to stop writing the crap you are about my CO and instead write some real news. Because I'm Edward Elric and I'm not dead!"

Ed closed the doors behind him and a rush of people walked over, including a couple of bodyguards. The guards tried attacking him, but Ed just ran a few steps, jumped and then kicked one of them in the face before he crouched on the floor and swiftly swept the other guard's legs with his right foot. The man wheezed, obviously having had the wind knocked out of him. Ed just walked over and punched him in the face.

Cameras were flashing as Ed straightened up, ready for any other combatants, but none came. The several journalists and what not were staring at him, shouting out questions or expressing their outrage. Two people were cheering and an old receptionist seemed to be crying.

"How can you be Colonel Elric?!"

"But it is him! It's got to be!"

"How dare you say something like that?!"

"You're too tall!

Ed grinned, grabbing the wrist of the one who had said the last one. It was a young woman with glasses, her black hair in a bun and she was wearing a brown suit. "You know, I rather like that remark. But you seriously don't believe that I can't have a growth spurt?"

She looked at him horrified. Ed was at least fifteen centimetres taller than her. "B-but Colonel Elric is said to be small –"

"I'M SIXTEEN, DAMMIT! I'M ALLOWED TO BE TALL AND STILL BE MYSELF!"

"Then show me your left leg." The woman was smirking, obviously having recognised Ed's temper.

"Sure." Ed released her wrist, knowing that the whole room was now holding its breath as Ed pulled up his trouser leg to reveal his metal shin. "Happy?"

Something happened to the people around him at that sight, and suddenly Ed had people hugging him tightly and shaking his hand.

Then Ed felt a stinging sensation as one of them shook his hand and Ed looked up at a grinning face as he felt himself growing weak and dizzy. Blood was trickling slightly from a little puncture wound on his right hand. Ed tried hitting the grinning man, but he missed and fell to the floor. Next moment the man had pulled out a gun and people screamed as he fired three shots into the air. "Stay back if you want to live!"

"Damn … it …" Ed said, trying to get away, but his body wouldn't listen. He just lay on the ground, looking up at the man who seemed to be contemplating what he was supposed to do. The people around him had just frozen in place. "You … _bastards _… are … here … too?"

"Goodbye, Colonel Elric," the man stated calmly, pointing the gun at him.

* * *

Roy froze the minute he heard the shots. Without caring about any of the others he ran forwards, pulling on his right ignition glove and slammed the doors open. He saw the man pointing his gun at Edward's still form lying on the floor with his back facing Roy. Roy saw red and snapped. The man was being burned alive and was screaming for a few seconds, as did the people around them. Roy didn't care and just fell to his knees next to Ed and felt the panic rising as he turned the boy towards him. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. "Hey, Edward!"

Ed looked at him unsteadily, but his face didn't reveal any pain. "M' alright," he said weakly. "Bastard … drugged … me."

Roy just pulled him up to his chest, hugging him tightly.

"That's General Mustang!"

"Quick! The camera!"

Roy didn't care about the flashes of light or the consequences this would have. He was just hugging Ed as tightly as he could. He'd been absolutely terrified when he saw Ed lying there unmoving. Shots plus unmoving Ed usually meant just one thing and that was not something he would like to contemplate. Not again. Never ever again.

* * *

**So, I thought that I'd just give a general warning here, because I will probably be updating this story often now that it reaches the end, which means that if there are readers who don't have this on their alerts, they will probably have to wait longer for the next update. The reason that I'm saying this, is that if I update a story twice (or more) in two days, then the first update is the only one that will be registered, so you have to watch the word count/number of chapters to be absolutely sure that I haven't updated the story.**

**And thank you to everyone who has stuck with me so far! You guys are great and fill my days with joy!**


	23. Chapter 23

**If anybody's wondering, the guy from the last chapter panicked and chose to kill Ed to silence him before he could say anything about the people involved. He would then have shot himself, believing that he died for a good cause.**

**At least that's what he was planning…**

**Go Roy!**

**And now for the world's most awkward interrogation, complete with cameras, a protective Roy and a drugged Edward…**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter twenty-three**

"Ed, how are you?" Roy asked, still afraid that Ed had been hurt. "Are you in pain?"

"No." The kid sounded tired. "Just … heavy? … Slow … brain'sall."

"Do you think you're going to fall asleep?"

"No."

"Okay, Ed. Listen, you're safe now. Just leave the rest to me."

Roy suddenly heard the click of a gun and turned his head around sharply. A frightened worker was obviously trying to play hero. "P-please, General! St-step away from the b-boy!" The man had tears running down his cheeks and Roy realised that he had just killed a man in cold blood right before these people. He had killed one of their colleagues and was hugging the child he was supposed to have tortured to death.

This didn't really look good. Even if he killed the man to save Ed, these people had believed for over a week now that Roy was a torturer and a kidnapper. They wouldn't exactly be persuaded by Roy burning a man to death to save Ed's life.

"I-I'll sh-shoot you!" The man was trembling. Roy could see a few scared people moving slowly towards the doors. He hoped Greg would be able to persuade them to stay because they really didn't need their plans to be messed up even further.

"Believe me, I'm not a torturer! I would never hurt Ed!" Roy said, holding him closer. "I was framed by someone in the military and they were the same ones that ordered him dead." He was quickly scanning the room for anyone else looking to kill Ed. He had to avoid hurting any of them if at all possible. He needed to build trust to get this article published, especially now that Edward was hardly able to speak.

"And where is Alphonse Elric?" another journalist asked. The crowd seemed to be split between people who were sure he'd kill them, and people who were willing to kill for a good story.

"Al is safe."

"Where have you been hiding the boys?"

"I haven't been hiding them. We've been in hiding until we could expose this military group without them going after Ed and Al!" Roy was getting anxious and angry. These people were still trying to make him out to be some kind of criminal.

"Why would you hug your subordinate?" another person asked. "How exactly is your relationship to Edward Elric?" They sounded suspicious, making Roy feel a shiver going down his spine with what the question implied.

**"****_Just what the hell do you think of me?! I'm not some damn pedophile!_****"** Roy shouted.

"So the feelings are mutual?" the person prompted, making Roy's blood boil. Ed was still half his age and Roy was straight. Besides, it made some very disturbing pictures form in his mind that he'd never ever want to imagine again.

"No … way … in … hell," Ed growled weakly.

"I told you to release him!" the man with the gun said, possibly gaining some nerve from the thoughts of Roy doing something like _that_ to Ed. "I will shoot you!"

"Tell'm … Dad," Ed said, obviously getting scared that Roy would get shot otherwise. As well as being too drugged to actually think clearly.

Silence.

"Did he call him "Dad?""

"He did!"

"He's their father?"

"Biologically?"

"Do you people believe me now?" Roy asked exasperatedly. "They're trying to frame me because of my work in Ishbal. There's a big military organisation who are killing and torturing officers and Ishbalans in order to keep the Ishbalans away from their holy land!** Now get that gun away from me and let me lay my drugged son down on a couch!"** Roy was thoroughly pissed off that it was that moment his body decided to have a coughing attack.

Roy's mind was caught up in two things: coughing and trying to not aim it at Ed.

At least until someone suddenly offered him a cup of water.

Roy accepted the cup and drank it down in one gulp. He looked around. People were getting to their feet, the gun lay forgotten on the floor and most of them were instead looking at the charred corpse on the floor, many of them crying.

Roy put Ed carefully down on the floor and clapped his hands in order to transmute a kind of wooden box around the body in order to at least cover it up as they worked. He then swiftly lifted Ed up into his arms, his head resting against Roy's chest.

A large group of workers were still just staring at him, but at least they didn't accuse him of any unspeakable crimes anymore. Instead, there was just a lot of cameras flashing as he stood there with Ed in his arms.

"Looks like we're going to take up the whole newspaper tomorrow, kid," Roy commented to Ed.

"Crap."

Roy smiled, earning even more camera flashes. "Okay, everyone, we'll give you complete dibs on the story as long as you all stay here and don't say a word to anyone else. And then we'll tell you everything." Roy tried taking control of the situation. A few people were still looking scared, but others had stars in their eyes at the thought of having dibs on this. Especially a short, middle-aged, brown-suited man with a large brown moustache covering his mouth. He was grinning widely as he strode forwards.

"Hello, General! I am the editor, Thomas Smith. It sounds like we have a very fine deal here, then, but I suggest we do the interview upstairs because of the … body."

Roy sighed, wanting these people to understand something important. "I know that man was your coworker, but he was going to shoot Ed, and if he wanted to do that, then he was probably fine with Ed being tortured too. Those people delivered to me what I thought was Ed's head, the eyes gouged out and the teeth pulled out one by one. That man was fine with being a part of an organisation that would do something like that to a kid _while he was alive_. If you'd rather have him alive than Ed, then that's your problem, not mine."

The workers seemed horrified. Roy knew for a fact that the eyes and teeth being removed had never reached the newspapers before, and a lot of people had gone from crying to looking sick and many were scowling at the wooden box covering the body.

The editor then pointed Roy towards the staircase and the whole group, a total of about twenty people, went up the stairs to a kind of conference room. There they all sat down and Roy ended up with Ed sitting on his lap, looking a bit dazed. Roy seriously hoped that the drug would stop working soon. Seeing Ed being so helpless and struggling to keep his mind working, was a very sad and frightening thing to see.

"Okay, everyone, ask one question each, choose your own focus and then you can merge your articles together later," the editor announced to the room at large.

"How did this happen?" A woman said at the far corner, a notebook and pen in front of her.

"We were attacked by the organisation in the middle of the night as we were walking through Ishbal. They set fire to our tent and they knocked me unconscious. Ed was however brought to a cave where Major General Carl Freeman decided that he'd tell him in detail the ways he was going to be tortured. Ed was then drugged and he woke up with partial memory loss from the incident, while a fake head was lying on the floor in front of him. They had cut off his hair in order to make the fake head as realistic as possible. They then delivered it to me in a box. I woke up back in my own house thinking that it had all been a nightmare just to find that box at the bottom of my staircase." Roy knew that he would be sharing a lot of feelings he would rather keep close to his chest, but right now he had a whole country to win back, which meant that every gruesome detail was key. They wanted to know how he felt **_as a parent_**. He really couldn't see how he'd avoid it, not anymore. So if he was going to win everybody's heart, then he would tell them at least a bit. He didn't want to relive it, though. He never wanted to do that.

"And how did that make you feel?" the next journalist asked predictably.

"How do you think? I found my kid's head inside a cardboard box, his eyes some bloody pits and his lips sunken in because of the missing teeth. And they even left me a note telling me they'd do the same to Alphonse and my other subordinates if I ever told anyone about this."

"Are you their biological father?"

"Of course not. I am only fourteen years older than Edward."

"So when did your fatherly instincts begin?"

_God, this is like talking to Hughes. He must be laughing at me from beyond the grave right now._

Ed was turning furiously red.

"About half a year ago I saw how our relationship was changing, and with the events this Spring, I decided that I should let it be known before it was too late."

**_Shit. I just said that to the _****_newspapers_****_. Ed and Al are going to need bodyguards after this._**

Roy knew he had to be blushing himself by now, but there was no going back. Ed was making a constant sound somewhere between humming and a drill where he sat.

"But Colonel Elric was in fact alive and well? How long before you found out?"

"Not until the day after the funeral."

"How was it like to believe him to be dead for a whole week while looking after his brother?"

"Devastating."

Roy could see a few tears in some of the many faces listening with rapt attention while scribbling intensely.

"Could you elaborate?"

Roy sighed, not even able to look at them anymore. This was hell. He may need to regain the Amestrians's trust, but this was one hell of a price to pay for it.

Ed hummed even louder as Roy began speaking.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter twenty-four**

Ed was scarred for life by the time his mind was working again and Dad was done with four hours of increasingly personal questions about fatherhood.

They really explored every single emotional step of the way these last couple of weeks. And the entire country would know all about it tomorrow.

Problem was, Ed's mind might be working, but his body still wouldn't listen, so he was still stuck there. He'd rather pretend not to be able to speak properly yet, because there was no way in hell that he was going to be asked the same questions.

"M'tired," Ed tried, knowing that Dad could see right through him, but that didn't matter. If Ed got to sleep on the couch in the corner, then everything would be perfect.

Greg and the others were downstairs, working as security together with Hawkeye. Ed knew that Walter and Harold were with Fredricks, getting him to safety.

Dad stood up and carried Ed onto the couch, letting him use his lap as a pillow. He finally removed that stupid wig he was wearing. It was a lot better to see him as Dad again. See him like he should be.

The action was met with even more camera flashes, though. Ed groaned inwardly. That was definitely going to make the front page.

He had felt sick with guilt when he had had to listen to every emotion he had put Dad through during that week when he was supposedly dead. Ed knew that it had been bad, but now he realised that he'd nearly destroyed him by doing this.

And so here Ed was, Dad gently stroking the top of his head while the journalists were all writing as if their lives depended on it. They needed as much time as possible so that they could make it into special edition focusing on "the true story behind Colonel Elric's death."

Ed had closed his eyes, not wanting to watch what would shortly become his doom. How the hell was he supposed to face the rest of team after this? Not to speak of the rest of Amestris. The toughest two weeks of his life was being covered in detail mostly from Dad's perspective.

But at least the angle wasn't that of a torturer.

Or even worse, child molester like they had tried to make him into because of a hug.

These people would really rather have a scandal than letting a hug be a hug. Ed guessed they felt kind of placated by the fact that Freeman had ordered him dead, though.

And so they had practically bled Dad dry for information about his feelings for him and Al. It was odd. And it was damn scary that everyone would suddenly know about this. Know that Roy Mustang was now their Dad.

"Turn'm'round," Ed fake-slurred. Not being able to move his body really was annoying. Ed just wanted to be turned around so that his face was hidden and he could keep a whispered conversation with Dad.

Dad did as he was asked and then gently began stroking his right cheek. It was a nice feeling that one. Mom had used to do that. It was a proper parent thing. And it made Ed feel so safe right now, even when he was this defenceless. It meant that he could fall asleep in a room full of strangers and still be absolutely safe.

"How are you doing, kid?" Dad whispered nearly inaudibly.

"I can't move my body yet, but my mind's beginning to work again."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Listen, I'm sorry about putting you through that again. It wasn't the plan. I shouldn't have let myself get taken out like that."

"Edward, none of us thought that they'd have someone in here who was ready to kill you. I'm just happy that you're unhurt."

"Still made you go through that again, though."

Dad sighed. "At least the rumours about me hurting you and Al will disappear for good. Without telling them what I have, there might have been people who still thought that I'd want to hurt you."

"Maybe, but now me and Al are a liability to you instead. Everyone in the country's gonna know that we're a point of weakness to you."

"We'll figure that out later. At least now we can actually act like father and son in the public. In a way I won't have to be your boss anymore."

"Yeah, but you can still boss me around though." Ed thought back to the lecture he'd received in the bathroom. Ed had basically given him even more power than he used to have. Now he actually had a right to meddle in his personal life.

And no matter how nice and comforting it was, it was still scary as hell. Ed was putting a lot of trust in this man.

"I guess I can."

Ed felt a wave of pain in his pride. "I can't believe that this is going to be in the papers." It was bad enough that most of the articles were written with focus on Dad's emotional journey, but they had kept asking Ed to confirm his own feelings to some extent and to make sure that the facts were right with "yes" and "no", sometimes accompanied by "kinda" and "maybe".

"Well, Ed, I didn't exactly want to expose my feelings like this either. But now they know the truth at least."

"I still think we should sue them for emotional trauma."

"How do you mean?"

"They made _me _listen to it. They made _you_ have to talk about your _feelings._ And they gave me mental pictures that I will never be able to get away by suggesting that you were fucking molesting me and Al." Ed's mind was still screaming at the thought. It was just so **_disturbing_**. He was Dad after all. _Their_ Dad. The one they had _chosen_. And to suggest that _that_ was what he was doing, it was just sick bullshit. Ed would have shivered at the thought if he could.

"You know, you have a point there." Dad shivered.

"Then we have a plan."

"I guess so, kid."

"I miss my hair. The wig doesn't feel right. It's a lot better than the other one, but it's not _my_ hair."

"Don't get me wrong, but I miss it too, Ed."

"I get you."

Ed fell asleep not long after.

* * *

Riza was handed the first copy of today's paper by the grinning editor and nearly choked at the headline. On the front page was a picture of the General sitting on a couch with Edward lying with his head on his lap.

**_MY SONS ARE ALIVE_**

_**Colonel Edward Elric lives.** _

_Yesterday afternoon, Eastern Times received a surprising visit as no one else but Colonel Edward Elric stormed into the building, demanding that we exonerated General Mustang. When an attempt was made on his life, a second visitor, revealed to be Brigadier General Roy Mustang himself came barging in and saved the boy's life. He then pulled the drugged boy into a hug._

_This turns out to be a much better picture of how their relationship is, as Colonel Elric himself refers to the man believed to have tortured him to death as "Dad."_

_"__I have cared a lot for the Elrics for a long time and they have become my sons these last few months. I would never hurt them," General Mustang reveals. "I have been framed by a military organisation for the murders of my own sons and have been forced to go into hiding."_

_This special edition of the Eastern Times gives you the true story of what really happened to Colonel Elric and his Dad and how they got through the hardest two weeks in their lives._

Riza couldn't help it, she began laughing. Loudly. She knew that the story would be extraordinary and that the General had been looking uncomfortable, but she hadn't imagined that they would get this much out of him. _And especially out of Edward._

No, she was laughing, because now the two of them had no excuse not to act like the family they were, and once they were reunited with Alphonse and all of this was over, then she had a feeling that her boss would be a lot happier than he had been in years.


	25. Chapter 25

**Okay, so to calm you people down a bit: Harold is staying with Alphonse in the bunker after they brought Fredricks there. And just to make sure, both Isaacs and Fredricks are currently tied to a chair each.**

* * *

**Chapter twenty-five**

Carl was a bit unnerved. He knew that it was two in the morning, yet he hadn't gone home. No, they were all meeting here instead. At least a lot of them. The ones here in East City that were at risk if Isaacs did something stupid and told the Führer about their organisation. They were fifteen in total.

"Listen, people, if we're about to get taken out, I suggest that we go out with a bang!" General Stephens said.

There was a lot of mutterings at that, but they were mostly in favour of doing things this way. They had a noble cause and it was better to die a martyr than a coward. There would be more after them. Isaacs wouldn't be able to name all of their members. They were too big.

"I suggest we lie in wait at the train station. With a bit of luck, we can kill Isaacs before he gets going. The next train to Central leaves at six o'clock after all. We'll be able to take him if he gets there," Carl said.

It was a unanimous vote.

* * *

Ed had a feeling that something was wrong the moment he woke up. He was still lying with his head on Dad's lap, but there were urgent whispers and Dad was tense. Ed sat up, finding that all movement had returned to his limbs. He looked around the room where Hawkeye, Greg, Ezra and Angela were standing right in front of them. They had clearly been having a whispered conversation in order not to wake him up.

Ed turned around to look at Dad, his eyes were flashing with worried anger.

"What's going on?" Ed asked, swinging his legs over the edge of the couch and sitting up next to Dad. "What's wrong?"

"It's not an option. Use Isaacs himself," Dad said, ignoring Ed. Or maybe he was trying to just keep Ed out of the conversation.

"Isaacs is too old, he hasn't been in the field for thirty years," Greg said, looking apologetic. "We can't risk him, he's the only way to get to the root of these bastards."

"You're not using Ed as bait," Dad growled.

_Oh, so that's it._

Ed knew that Dad had got angry about Ed being bait even when he was still just "The Colonel", but now he was _pissed off _that someone was even suggesting it. Dad had got a lot more protective these last few months, but now he seemed to have reached an almost over-protective level.

"I'm sorry, General, but we're in a fix. Ed is the only one who can create enough of a diversion now that things have gone the way they have."

"I'm not letting you risk his life. I've already lost him once, I'm not going to do it again. He nearly died yesterday because you guys didn't know that they had a guy here!"

"Do I have a say in this?" Ed said.

Dad turned sharply towards him, "**No!**"

"Would you at least let me know exactly what is going on?"

"We're not going to ambush the bastards at their homes, because they're already ready to ambush General Isaacs at the train station. They think that he'll be taking the six o'clock train. We need to lure them out so that we can get the upper hand despite being fewer in numbers," Greg said, looking worried and a bit exasperated with Dad.

"Of course I can do that," Ed said. That sounded a bit fun to be honest. "I'd like to see their faces once they realise that I'm not dead."

"There's no way in hell that I'm letting you do that!" Dad said.

Ed turned towards him. "I won't die! I've been in a lot of dangerous situations like that and I've come out safely!"

"Yes, but back then you still had your alchemy and could stop bullets with stone walls! Things are different now! I won't let you!"

"You can't tell me not to help these guys capture those bastards!"

**"****I can because I'm your father!"**

Everyone in the room froze. Dad was still looking angrily at Ed though. Ed didn't really know what to say to that. He couldn't react angrily to that because he was actually touched. A part of him really just wanted to hug Dad for saying that. Ed had never had anyone try to boss him around by saying those words.

Dad seemed to understand what Ed was thinking though, because next second his face softened slightly and he pulled Ed into a hug instead. "I can't lose you again."

Ed hugged him back. "I get that, I really do, but we need to get these bastards so that they can't hurt anyone else."

"Then I'm going with you. And you're getting a gun."

Ed really didn't want to shoot anyone, even if he was actually a pretty good shot. He'd received shooting lessons from Hawkeye herself after all.

"I'm not shooting anyone. I'd rather use a sword."

"Then you're getting both. You need to be prepared to shoot if you're in a tight spot."

"I'm not killing anyone, no matter what."

"You're still getting a gun."

"Fine, Dad."

* * *

They were sitting in the back of a truck, Ed now equipped with a sword and a gun. He didn't exactly know where Walter had got all this stuff from, but once they were done getting Fredricks, Walter came with this truck loaded with weapons.

"This is what you guys did on the Promised Day, wasn't it?" Ed asked.

"Yep," Dad answered.

"Although you were getting ready to storm Central HQ back then. This time we're getting these racist bastards out of hiding in a train station. And we're not fighting those Ouroboros guys." Ed had begun referring to the homunculi this way when speaking about the Promised Day in order not to say anything that technically had a gag order on it. "I'd say that the odds are more in our favour this time."

"Maybe so, but you're not to take this matter any lighter because of it. We're still outnumbered and outgunned."

"But at least you've got your alchemy. You can just burn them to a crisp if you want to."

"That may be, but I'm still not bulletproof. And neither are you." He said the last part rather strictly.

"You know, you're being really pessimistic about this."

Dad sighed. "I'm just telling you that Greg's informant recognised at least fifteen officers walking into the station and we know that each and every one of them won't hesitate to kill you in order to silence you."

" – which is why we're smuggling Hawkeye upstairs onto the balcony with a sniper rifle," Ed reminded him.

"Edward, even I can't take out fifteen people if they decide to shoot you all at once," Hawkeye said, looking at him from where she was sitting across from them.

"So you think I'm gonna die?" Ed said, sighing with their pessimism.

Dad put a hand on his shoulder. Ed turned back to him. "Like I said, Ed, I won't let you. We just want you to take care so that you don't get shot."

"Fine."

"Good," Dad said, pulling Ed into a sideways hug. They sat like that for the next five minutes until the car pulled to a stop and Greg and Walter threw open the doors and jumped inside.

"Okay, here's how it's going to work," Greg began, putting blueprints of the train station down on top of a wooden crate between them. "The train in question is a cargo train, which is probably why they think General Isaacs will be on it. There won't be any other trains leaving before eight, which means that the station will be practically devoid of civilians. The train will be leaving from platform three at six o'clock, so in twenty-five minutes. I suggest that Ed and General Mustang walk in through the main entrance five minutes after Captain Hawkeye is positioned on the balcony here." He pointed towards the most strategic point for a sniper to be placed. "None of the officers involved are snipers, so there is no point for any of them to be placed up there, but you should be careful all the same, Captain."

Hawkeye nodded once.

"The most likely positions for them will probably be these five spots, although it's likely that they have lookouts." He began making a few red crosses on the blueprints. "Me, Ezra, Angela and Walter will take these four spots to cover you, but you two will have to draw the fire first, so it's really just up to you two." He looked at Ed and Dad. "So good luck, gentlemen."

"Sure! Let's kick some ass!" Ed said.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter twenty-six**

"PEEK-A-BOO, YOU BASTARDS!" Ed shouted, running inside the station, having just avoided Dad gripping his right wrist and holding him back as he ran ran through the double doors. "I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD SO I CAN KICK YOUR RACIST ASS!" Ed spread his arms wide, looking around the building. "COME ON NOW, FREEMAN! LET ME BEAT YOU FACE TO FACE!"

Ed was pretty sure that the only reason he wasn't being shot at was that these people honestly didn't know whether they should kill him or capture him.

"How the hell are you still alive?!" Ed heard a voice say to his right from inside the ticket box. It didn't belong to Freeman, however.

"Come out, you guys, and I'll tell you!" Ed jumped away right before the shot came from the opening in the window.

And so Ed gave a nice little display of jumping and twirling in the air as the stupid jerk emptied his gun. "You're gonna have to do better than that! Come on, Freeman! You know you wanna talk to me!"

Ed knew that Dad would have to keep back in order not to expose the fact that Ed had backup.

The familiar voice from Ed's nightmares came from behind a stone pillar a little to his left. "Well, well, you brat, you're harder to kill than I thought. Congratulations on that. So what's your plan? I'm guessing that you have backup? Or are you a diversion? Are your comrades going to smuggle Isaacs aboard the train while you distract us?"

"I'm just here to get back at you for the pain that you put my family through!"

The man laughed his wheezy, disgusting laugh. "Yeah, I really had fun with that."

Ed moved to kick that bastard in the nuts, but the man laughed again. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you. Look up."

Ed stood still as his eyes fell upon a man holding an unconscious Hawkeye appeared on the balcony. She had blood running down the right side of her head and a gun pressed to her temple. Ed felt anger surge through his body at the same time as his stomach clenched. "YOU BASTARDS! LET HER GO!"

Freeman laughed again. "We thought that maybe Mustang would come and he goes nowhere without that woman of his, so we figured we should have a couple of people looking out for snipers. You, however, were a surprise. Put down your weapons or she's dead."

Ed growled as he laid his gun and sword down on the ground. It still wasn't time for Dad to come in, especially when they had a hostage. He had undoubtedly heard them speaking and Ed could practically hear his teeth grinding because they had taken Hawkeye.

"Good boy." Freeman suddenly threw him a pair of handcuffs from behind his hiding place. Ed caught them in his hands. "Turn your back to me and cuff your hands behind your back so I can see it."

Ed growled again. Dad was going to burn these bastards alive.

Ed did as he was told and heard footsteps approach behind him. This really was going badly for them right now. He could still beat him to a pulp, but there was no way he could risk it when they had Hawkeye. Next second Ed had an arm tighten around his throat and a knife pressed against his side. "You know, Edward, I'm going to enjoy cutting you up myself to make sure that you stay dead this time," Freeman said into his ear, pressing the tip of the blade against his side just enough to break the skin. The man smelled strongly of cigars.

Ed felt his anger boiling. "Fine, you got me, _now let her go!_"

"You know, Edward, I think I will. It's much more fun when the hostage is awake after all." The man once again uttered his wheezy laugh. "Hey, Peters! Leave her up there, we don't need her anymore now that we've got this one!"

"How did you take her out anyway?" Ed asked. He had one tiny advantage in this situation, and that was that Freeman seemed to want to torture him slowly, so he wasn't at risk of dying any time soon at least.

"Well, sending three strong soldiers to take care of one small woman really seemed to do the trick."

"You bastards! I swear I'm gonna kick your ass for this!"

"Ah! There it is, that delicious rage of yours! You know, I was actually a bit sad that you were dead, you're too much fun to play with. People usually just beg for mercy."

"Yeah, well, you won't get any of that from me!"

The knife slashed across his chest, making him grunt before it was once again pressed against his side. "That's just what I want to hear. Now how about we get Mustang and the others inside here?"

Ed felt blood trickling from the cut on his chest. It stung quite a bit. Dad was gonna be pissed off for sure when he saw it. Freeman pushed Ed to move back towards the entrance and Ed reluctantly began moving his legs. Ed looked about him, Freeman's pals were getting out from their hiding places. Ed counted fourteen of them, which meant that with Freeman, they made a total of fifteen. It didn't mean that someone wasn't hiding somewhere, but at least Ed now knew where most of them were.

"Come on, kid, call for that General of yours," Freeman said, pressing the knife further into his side, making Ed bite his lip. When Ed didn't do as he was told, however, Freeman decided to make another cut on his stomach this time. Ed hissed with the wave of pain that came with it. "Screw you," Ed said through gritted teeth.

"Looks like I'm going to have to do this myself," Freeman sighed. "Hey, Mustang! We've got the kid so I suggest that you and the other ones come out or he'll be in a world of pain!" he shouted, tightening his hold around Ed's neck, making breathing just a bit harder. "And take off those gloves of yours, they're pretty annoying."

Dad appeared through the glass door and Ed sighed. He'd kind of hoped that he'd have defied the orders and tried to find some other way to get Ed loose. This way they'd just take him and the others and try to silence them. Once Dad saw Ed's bleeding chest, a kind of hatred that Ed had only seen when he was killing Envy appeared in his eyes.

"Good, now put your hands above your head and remove your jacket, can't have you hiding any guns after all."

Dad removed the green jacket he was currently wearing, leaving him in jeans and a white t-shirt. He then put his hands on his head. Actually he didn't put them _on_ his head, but clapped them together behind it instead, which was Ed's cue to slam his head backwards and hopefully break Freeman's nose. The man released his grip on Ed and Ed ran forward just as Dad transmuted four protective walls around the two of them. The bullets began slamming into the stone, causing them no damage whatsoever. This was the great part about Dad's clapping alchemy, people didn't know about it. He specialised in flame alchemy after all, and when he wore his gloves, he didn't need to clap to transmute.

There was some light inside their protective box, seeing as how they really didn't need a ceiling. Dad put his hands on Ed's shoulders, checking him for further injuries.

"I'm fine, it's only the cuts. Get my hands out of these instead."

Dad, however, used Ed's lack of arms to his advantage and lifted the front of his tank top to assess the cuts. Ed had blood that had run all the way down his front. "That bastard, I'm going to burn him for this!"

"They're not so bad. Now listen, Hawkeye's still up on the balcony, we need to get her safe. They knocked her unconscious by the looks of it."

Dad made another annoyed grunt and clapped his hands again, walking around to Edward's back and freed him from the handcuffs. He then dove for his jacket and brought out his ignition gloves. Ed picked up his sword which had just made it inside their box. "Okay, Ed, you go after Hawkeye while I get the others down here."

Suddenly a lot of new shooting sounds joined the others.

"That's the rest of them," Dad said. "Okay, Ed, I'll cover you over to the staircase, then you're on your own. _Don't_ get hurt any more."

"Sure."

Then Dad snapped his fingers, making the wall in front of them practically explode. Ed ran towards the staircase, hearing Dad snap over and over again. Ed took the steps two at a time, coming upon another of these bastards getting ready to use Hawkeye as a hostage again. Ed kicked him in the back of the knees, making him fall forwards before slamming his fist into the back of the head. Ed left him there in the staircase and ran up the final steps. Hawkeye was lying slumped on the balcony, looking quite dead. panicking slightly, Ed ran over to her and knelt down beside her. He checked Hawkeye's pulse, finding it to be steady. The sounds of shots and explosions were dying down quite a bit already. Ed guessed that Dad had put quite a lot of them out of commission, especially seeing as how they had come out once Ed had been captured. Ed returned his focus back on Hawkeye and lifted her up on his shoulder and ran down the steps, only to meet Ezra halfway down. He was looking alarmed.

"I'll take her, you need to calm your father down."

Getting a bad feeling, Ed handed Hawkeye to him and ran back out to find Dad looking wildly about him, the rain of bullets now over. Angela and Greg were looking around, guns at the ready.

"Dad!" Ed shouted, running towards him, gripping his arms. "Come on, you need to calm down!"

"Freeman's still somewhere about here!" He growled desperately. "I'm not letting him get away just so that he can go after you boys!"

"I get that, but you're looking too much like you did with Envy! You promised me you'd keep yourself in check! That you'd never go off seeking revenge like that! Let the others take care of it!" Ed didn't want Dad to find Freeman judging by the way he was looking. He was breathing heavily, but Ed's words seemed to be getting some form of reaction from him. "Please, Dad!"

Dad gripped his arms back, looking at him, and his frantic eyes seemed to soften a bit. "Okay, son, let's get go– " he suddenly threw Ed sideways just before the sound of a gun going off broke the silence at the same time that Dad snapped his fingers.

Ed looked towards Freeman who was screaming as he fell to the ground, flames consuming him.

Then Ed heard a thump as Dad's knees hit the ground and Ed turned around to look at him, his eyes falling upon the red stain on the right side of Dad's stomach which was growing rapidly.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter twenty-seven**

Ed froze for a second, as did Dad.

Then Dad fell sideways with a grunt of pain and Ed moved quickly, throwing off his red coat and knelt down before Dad, pressing it against the wound. Ed didn't even know what to say. Dad had just taken a bullet for him.

Dad was shaking slightly, his teeth gritted and his breathing heavy.

"Hey, Dad! Just take it easy, we'll get you out of this."

"Yes, I know … It's still not too comfortable though," he said weakly.

Ed looked about him in order to get some help, but Greg and Angela were busy trying to keep the last two of these bastards at bay. The jerks seemed to have gained some heart at seeing Dad getting shot.

"Okay, I need to get you out of here, can you keep pressure on that if I drag you out?" Ed asked, knowing that the risk of more bullets coming their way was definitely present.

In answer, Dad began sitting up and then leaned his arm heavily on Ed's shoulder as he stood up.

"Hey! You need to take it easy!" Ed said as he stood up, putting his right arm under Dad's left, while Dad put his arm over Ed's shoulders and leaned heavily on him, still pressing Ed's coat against his stomach. Ed took an extra look to make sure that the bullet hadn't gone all the way through. It hadn't.

"We're walking outside and then I can collapse," Dad said through gritted teeth. "Come on."

Ed had to basically support all his weight as they slowly made their way towards the exit. Dad limped heavily and was clearly in a lot of pain. Ed felt sick with the thought that right now, Dad had a bullet lodged somewhere inside his stomach and it was killing him.

Freeman was a burnt corpse, yet he was still killing Dad. Ed felt both angry and scared. Dad wasn't going to die now, that wouldn't happen. He'd be fine in a few weeks and back in the office and things would be back to normal.

Right?

Walter came running towards them from over by the truck, looking alarmed. "What happened?"

"He got shot, we need to get him to a hospital!" Ed said.

Walter didn't even say something, he just ran back to the truck before driving it over to them. Once the truck stopped in front of them, Ezra threw open the doors from the inside, revealing Hawkeye lying on the floor, still out cold. Ezra stretched out his arms to pull Dad inside and Ed let him.

"How is she?" Dad said weakly.

"She'll be fine, sir, just a concussion," Ezra said as Ed climbed in after them and shut the doors. Ed was barely kneeling by Dad's side before the truck started moving. Ezra kept pressure on the wound while Ed just held Dad's left hand feeling useless. Ed could smell the iron scent of blood and it made him even more scared. Dad was dying, he was in pain and it was because he protected Ed. If Ed had just done something differently then this wouldn't be happening right now.

"Hey, kid, take it easy, I'm not going to die on you," Dad said, somehow managing to smile at him through the pain. "I'm not leaving you any time soon."

* * *

Alphonse threw open the door to the hospital room. They hadn't let him come before now because they needed to make sure that the news had spread so that it was safe for Al to move in the open, even if it was with Harold guarding him. Al was sick with worry. The surgery had finished an hour ago and Dad was just lying there, Ed holding his hand.

Dad was still very pale and he was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor was beeping in the background. At least he was breathing on his own, though.

Ed looked up at Al and he smiled sadly. "They say he'll be fine, it'll just take some time."

Al just ran over and hugged his big brother, crying. He had been so scared these last twenty-four hours. Ed hugged him back, stroking his back. Then Al felt something through the fabric of Ed's tank top and pulled away, his eyes widening at the two large slashes across Ed's front. "Brother! You're hurt!" Al immediately lifted the front of his tank top to see bandages covering his big brother's chest and stomach.

"It's fine, just a couple of cuts, Al."

"How did that happen?" Al was still alarmed, Brother always had a habit of lying about the severity of his own injuries.

"Freeman decided to cut me with a knife, they're not too deep."

Al just hugged him again. He didn't know what else to do. Brother had been injured and Dad had been shot. Hawkeye was in some other department for less severe injuries. "I was so scared! I didn't get any messages or everything and then suddenly Ezra called and said that Dad had been shot! But I couldn't even come see you before now because they needed to make sure that the newspaper had reached throughout the city first!" Al couldn't stop himself from sobbing into his big brother's shoulder.

"Hey, Al, it's okay. We'll be fine."

Al just kept crying.

* * *

Roy was in pain. He was sleepy and in pain.

Those were the first things he noticed.

Then he heard the steady beeping and felt someone holding his hand.

Roy opened his eyes slowly, being met with a bright light. A bright light followed by two anxious voices saying the same word, "Dad!"

He turned his head towards the sound, and his eyes focused upon two pairs of golden eyes looking at him. Roy could feel his lips form a weak smile at the sight of them. "Hello, boys," he said hoarsely.

That was all it took. Next second, Roy was being embraced from both sides as Alphonse had run around the bed to take Roy's right side while Ed was hugging him from the left. With one Elric against each cheek, Roy gently put his arms around them, not caring about the pain shooting through his stomach at the movement. Alphonse was sobbing into his right ear and Ed was just being quiet.

That was until he seemed to regain some of his anger.

"You bastard! Don't you ever do something like that again!"

"What? Save my son's life? Not going to happen."

Ed got out of the hug and looked at him equally pissed off and happy. "You nearly died! You promised us that you weren't going to die!"

"And I didn't," Roy said calmly. He was a parent now, after all, it was his duty to look after his kids. His stomach may be hurting like hell, but there was no doubt in his mind that he would do it all over again if it meant keeping his boys safe from harm. "How are you two?"

"Don't you dare change the subject! You took a fucking bullet for me and you expect me to just accept that? You nearly left us all alone!"

"Edward, I am your father. Both of you mean the world to me and I am more than willing to take all the bullets in the world if it means keeping you boys safe from harm. That's just how it is. Now come here, I think I deserve a longer hug than the one I got."

Ed scowled, but Roy only had to push him gently in order to get him to lie back down against his side, his head leaning on Roy's left shoulder. Alphonse was still just clinging to his neck while sobbing his heart out.

Roy had a feeling that they'd be sitting like this for a long time.

And he could only smile proudly at his boys.

* * *

**So, a little warning, next chapter will most likely be the last, although I'm seriously considering writing a sequel. Would you people want to read a story set a few years later with Roy, Ed and Ed's son (I'm thinking around three years old)?**


	28. Chapter 28

**Here we go, people: the final chapter of this story, and I would just like to thank you all for sticking with me this far. I'll most likely be posting the first chapter of the sequel today, so I hope you people will enjoy that too!**

* * *

**Chapter twenty-eight**

After a lot of convincing from Al and Dad, Ed finally found his way over to the hospital phones and dialled the number to the Rockbells. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to them, it was just that he had no clue what to say. Plus, Winry was scary when she got emotional.

"Rockbell Prosthetic Limb Outfitters," came Winry's voice and although she was trying to sound her usual self, he could hear that she had been crying a lot. Ed guessed that she had read the papers.

"Hey, Winry, it's Ed…"

"Edward? … So it's true what the papers said?" Her voice was weak and Ed was afraid that she'd start crying.

"Yeah."

It was completely quiet at the other end of the line for about half a minute. "… Uh, Winry?"

"YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU LET US THINK YOU WERE DEAD?!" Winry shouted, forcing Ed to hold the receiver half a metre from his ear.

"Sorry…" Ed said, slowly getting the phone closer to his ear again.

"TWO WEEKS WE WENT THINKING YOU WERE DEAD! THAT YOU HAD BEEN TORTURED AND HAD DIED THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to keep the others safe …"

"AND THEN YOU LET US KNOW FROM THE PAPERS INSTEAD OF SAYING IT IN PERSON?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"Because Dad got shot!" Ed said loudly. He felt terrible about what he had done to Winry and Granny. He knew he should have called them sooner, but he had been too worried about Dad.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end. "What?" Winry said weakly, clearly crying now that she wasn't screaming at him.

"We went to take out some of these bastards before the news reached them, and Dad got shot in the stomach. We're in the hospital now."

"Is he going to be okay?" She sounded frightened.

"Yeah, but he needed some pretty major surgery."

"And you, Ed, how are you? Are you hurt? In the article it said you got drugged yesterday."

"I'm fine. Everything's gonna be fine. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner." Ed spoke softly.

"Don't worry about it, I understand. But is it over now at least? Are you safe?"

"I'm as safe as I'll ever be. It's not over, but we've exposed these bastards so the rest is up to the rest of the military. Listen, Winry, I'd love to speak to you longer, but I think Teacher's gonna kill me if I don't call her soon." Ed was still afraid to be out in the open for long, not because of the dangers of attacks, but because the press wanted a long, heartfelt interview with him that he really didn't want to give. At least in the hospital room, they could call the nurses to throw the reporters and cameramen out.

Here it was just Ed and Greg who was leaning against the wall further down the hall to give him some privacy.

"I understand," Winry said. "Please tell General Mustang to get well soon. And thank you for calling, Ed, it was good to hear your voice again."

"Yeah, you too."

Then Ed realised what he had just said and he felt himself blush furiously. "Gotta go! Bye!" Then he slammed the receiver down, panting, hoping that no one had heard him.

* * *

"So, you read the papers, then?" Roy said with a sigh as he walked inside the office, still using his cane to support some of his weight. It was his first day back since the shooting and he was only allowed to do paperwork for another few weeks. There was a large banner hanging from the ceiling with large, baby blue letters.

**_IT'S A BOY!_**

Beneath it hung another.

**_AND ANOTHER ONE!_**

Ed was walking next to him, looking absolutely horrified at the décor. There were blue balloons all over, all of them with pictures of Ed and Al taped to them. Some of them were from the articles, featuring Roy hugging a drugged Ed to him. The walls were covered with pages from the interviews and there was even a large cake on the desk in front of them, it too with a picture of Roy carrying Ed.

Havoc and Breda were laughing their heads off at Roy and Ed's expressions, Havoc was even brave enough to pull out a camera.

"Congratulations, Boss! You're a Dad!" Havoc said, still laughing.

What was worse, however, was that Hawkeye was actually standing in the corner of the room, smirking slightly.

"Even you, Hawkeye?" Roy found himself asking.

Ed was just blushing, seeming to have frozen in horror.

"I did not help them put this up, but as it was outside office hours, I figured that it didn't hurt team morale." She walked forwards, a present in her hand. She gave it to him, smiling warmly. "Welcome back, sir."

With only one hand free, Roy nudged Ed, gaining his attention. "Would you mind unwrapping this for me?"

Ed just nodded twice before throwing the wrappers off.

To reveal a framed photograph of Roy lying in his hospital bed, Ed and Al asleep with their heads on one shoulder each, Roy's arms around them. All three of them were smiling.

"When did you get this?" Roy asked, stunned. It was a beautiful picture.

"I came to visit you after being discharged from the hospital, but the three of you were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you, sir."

"Thank you, Captain."

"You're very welcome, sir."

"SO THIS IS WHY YOU GUYS HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT THE NEWSPAPERS WITH ME?!" Ed suddenly shouted at Havoc and Breda. "YOU WERE JUST WAITING FOR HIM TO COME BACK TOO!"

"Of course, Ed, he's the one that made a whole nation believe he was a torturer only to come back with a heartwarming story of fatherhood. You, Chief, were forced through listening to all that stuff, so it's not your fault," Havoc explained, still smirking.

Roy just put his hand around Ed's shoulders and led him over to the desk. "Come on, son, let's eat this cake and not share it with either of these idiots."

* * *

Roy received a lot of funny looks that week and many smirks. People still seemed to be so relieved that Ed was alive that he got a lot less laughter when walking through HQ than what Roy did.

Still, it was good to come home to his house and just sit down and eat dinner with his sons. They had a fun time playing poker in the living room, but Roy quickly discovered that he had to keep an eye on Ed so that he didn't cheat and Roy and Al outvoted him two against one that Ed was not allowed to shuffle the cards.

Roy stayed awake longer than the boys. After all, Al still needed a lot of sleep and Ed didn't want to wake him by going to sleep at a later time. When Roy got ready to go to bed, he did as he usually did and opened the guest room door to just take a few seconds to look at the boys sleeping peacefully. The pair of them had been through so much already and they weren't even of age yet. Yet here they were, his beautiful, wonderful boys happy and safe.

Ed shifted in his bed and sat up slightly, rubbing his eyes. "Dad?"

"Sorry, Ed, I didn't mean to wake you," Roy said softly.

"Nah, it's okay, didn't have a good dream anyway."

Roy limped his way inside the room and sat down on the bed next to Ed. He slept without a wig, so he had a tiny amount of golden hair covering his head, making him look much more like a soldier than Roy thought he should. He sighed sadly at the constant reminder of all the pain they had gone through during that hellish week when they thought he was gone. "What did you dream about?"

Ed sat up straighter, looking at him. "About when you got shot. There was a lot of blood, too much of it. I couldn't stop it and …" Ed just looked down, not wanting to finish that sentence, but somehow he seemed to need to. "… And you were choking and dying and blood was running out of your mouth." Ed took another pause. "...And you spoke to me. You said that it was my fault and that … that you wished I wasn't your son." Ed mumbled the last part so that it was barely audible.

Roy just pulled him into a hug. A long, warm hug. "I would never think that, Edward, never. I love the two of you more than you can imagine."

Ed just hugged him back, tightly. "I love you too, Dad."

And so Roy just held him until Ed was asleep. Then he gently lay him back down in his bed and tucked him in. He kissed both boys on their foreheads and then closed the door quietly behind him as he left the room.

When he lay down in his own bed, he looked over at the photograph Hawkeye had given him and smiled. There was no doubt. They may have different hair colour, but they were his sons.


End file.
